Coins
by Biisaiyowaq
Summary: When Danny begins attending a school for halfa's and young ghosts in the Ghost Zone, doing extra homework becomes the least of his worries. News of the Ghost Zone falling apart and rumors of an invasion into the human world spread and stir up a possible civil war, leaving Danny and his friends pushed to their limits as they try to save their worlds. Don't own DP.
1. Discovery

Chapter 1 – Discovery

Started: August 2, 2012

Ended: September 16, 2012

* * *

The light streaming in through the window roused him from unconsciousness, and Danny cursed the fact that he had left them open, it was too early to be getting up. Curling up into a ball under the covers, he decided to ignore the coming day and sleep for as long as he possibly could. Unfortunately, the ringing of his alarm clock brought him forcefully into the land of the awake, and with barely controlled restraint he turned it off and sat up in bed, knowing Jazz wouldn't be far behind. Sometimes he swore she stood outside his door waiting for his alarm clock to go off so she had an excuse to drag him out of bed. The door swung open, admitting a chipper Jazz,

"Danny! Glad to see you're awake!" He groaned and fell back onto his bed, "Oh come on, the mornings aren't _that_ bad, and if you started going to bed earlier you could enjoy it as much as I do! At least 8 hours of sleep are recommended for teenagers, and sometimes I think you're barely getting 4," Danny snorted, "Sleeping more could help you focus in school too, and it's not like your grades would suffer any more from it…" Tuning out the rest of her speech, he decided that getting up was his best option, since his parents would be coming up next, and who knew what crazy invention they'd try on him this time.

"Yeah, yeah, Jazz," He said, shoving her out of his room as gently as he could, "Sleeping is good. Now let me get dressed." Hearing Jazz's disgruntled 'hmph' from the hallway; he smiled and shook his head. He loved his sister and all, but sometimes she seemed as crazy as his parents.

Running down the stairs he grabbed a slice of toast off the table and gulped down a glass of milk before kissing his mom goodbye and leaving the house, ignoring his sister's calls about a fulfilling breakfast and its psychological benefits. Sometimes she acted more like a mom than their mom did…

Since Tucker was getting a ride to school with his cousin (who had just arrived in town and wanted to explore Amity Park), he and Sam would be alone on their walk to school. A small smile wormed its way onto his face as his phone buzzed, but after reading the message it vanished. Sam was walking with some Goth kid she met at the Skulk and Lurk, so he was heading to school alone. As he tried to squash the tendril of jealously within him he kicked a nearby pebble, and as it skittered across the pavement his breath fogged up and a shiver raced up his spine. A wry grin worked its way onto his face, _'Talk about good timing,_' He thought, _'Misplaced aggression here I come._'

Ducking into an alley and transforming, he began looking around, but after five minutes of fruitless searching had passed and no screams were to be heard Danny was starting to believe his ghost sense was malfunctioning. At least until it went off again as he touched down in a different alley to transform back. Lighting up his hands with ectoblasts, Danny crept forward, not wanting surprise whatever ghost lay ahead. Of course, when he saw exactly which ghost is was he stood up and let the blasts fade, a confused look appearing on his face.

Sure, ectopi were common, but they liked to roam around and scare people, this one was circling an old soda can and…talking to it?

"Haauunnnnntttttttt…" Came the raspy whisper as it laid eyes on him, _"Haauuunnnnnttttttt!..._" Hazy green tentacles curled protectively around the can as the odd ectopus dropped down to try and hide its prize, red eyes narrowing in an attempt to look threatening.

Now Danny might not have been the most well-versed in ghost psychology, but even he knew that a haunt (A can? Really?) was extremely important to a ghost as well as being an anchor to the real world. Reaching into his backpack and wordlessly sucking in the angry ghost, he bent over and picked up the can, tossing it lightly in the air before catching it and scrutinizing it closely. What was so special about this can? After a few moments of searching Danny gave up. Oh well. It didn't really matter to him anyways. His house was only a few blocks away, so Danny decided that he might as well dump the ectopus and its haunted can back in the Zone right away, no use in giving separation anxiety or something.

Phasing into the lab was easy, since for some reason his parents hadn't ghost-proofed the walls, but after emptying the thermos and throwing the can into the ghost zone, he froze in his tracks. Lying on a pedestal on one of the stainless steel tables (which were obviously not very stainless when it came to ectoplasm, the numerous faded green splotches being proof) was what looked to be some sort of small silver…something. It looked rather like a flattened silver circle slightly larger than a quarter with intricate carvings on the top. And it looked old. Ghost Zone old. The faint glow and slight shiver he felt were testaments to its ghostliness, but what in the world it was supposed to do was beyond him. Taking a picture of it with his phone, he decided to show Frostbite later, since Clockwork would just give him some headache-inducing riddle.

That done, he grabbed his backpack, snuck back outside, and flew as fast as he could to school, hoping he wasn't late again. Transforming in the bathroom the minute he landed, he ran to Lancer's class, praying Dash wasn't around to slow him down and earn him another detention. Lancer raised his eyebrow and Danny's sudden entrance into his class but didn't say anything, secretly proud that the boy was on time for once.

As Lancer walked down the aisles collecting homework, Danny sat up proudly. Thanks to his increased fighting prowess, he had beaten Skulker and caught the Box Ghost before eleven, giving him at least two hours to do the assigned reading and write the chapter summaries that Lancer had wanted for _Oedipus the King_.

In the two years since Danny had gained his powers, his ability to send ghosts flying back into the Ghost Zone had grown. But his skills weren't the only things growing, as his power levels increased as well. His height and muscle development hadn't been hindered by the extra exercise either, and while he wasn't as tall or muscular as Dash, he was at least physically fit.

When Lancer reached his desk and saw the small stack of papers on Danny's desk, he smiled faintly,

"Well done Mr. Fenton." He said before moving on. Danny seemed slightly flustered by the compliment, and sent Sam and Tucker a grin.

When Lancer started up a lecture about the significance of _Oedipus_ throughout history and literature, Danny felt a small paper note collide with the back of his head. Knowing who it was from, he reached back and grabbed it before opening it without looking to see the sender. _Way to be on time! ~Sam._ Grabbing a pencil from inside his backpack, he quickly wrote back, _Only sensed this weird ectopus on the way to school, no biggie,_then turned around and flicked it back to her.

_Weird ectopus?_ She queried, her interest piqued. Smiling, Danny turned around.

"Yeah," He whispered, "It was circling this soda can and kept saying 'Hauuunnnntttt'," Doing his best to imitate the odd specter, he failed to notice that he had garnered the attention of Lancer, or that said teacher was currently stalking down the aisle with an annoyed expression on his face. "So I sucked it into the thermos and grabbed the can to toss them in the Zone. But the really weird thing was the amulet pendant thingy my parents had-"

"_Mister_ Fenton!" Lancer barked, making Danny jump in the air before spinning around to face the older man, "Would you like to share something with the class? Or perhaps explain to me fate's role in Oedipus' life?" Blushing with embarrassment, Danny stuttered for a moment before realizing that since he had actually read the book he could indeed answer,

"Well, um," He began, wilting under the hard stare being directed at him, "There was this prophecy thing that said the king's son was gonna kill him, so he tried to kill Oedipus," Lancer sighed as Danny mispronounced the name, correcting him before motioning for him to continue, "But his mom sent him away so he was raised by farmers or something. And one day when he was walking to the city he passed this dude that harassed him and got into a fight and killed him because he didn't know it was his real dad. So he goes to the city he was actually born in and manages to become king and marry the queen, who he doesn't know is his mother," At this some of the people who had failed to do the assignment scrunched up their faces in disgust, "And has some kids," A small chorus of _'eww'_ spread through the classroom and quite a few people mimed gagging before Lancer got them to shut up. "But then-" Once again Lancer sighed, although this time a hint of a smile was tugging at his lips,

"I see you are acquainted with the story Mr. Fenton, but if you would kindly pay attention for the rest of the period I would be much obliged." Blushing again, Danny nodded his head and mumbled a _'Yes sir,'_ under his breath, sinking down into his seat and picking up his notebook.

The rest of the period passed quietly, with the trio passing notes and occasionally writing down what Mr. Lancer was speaking about, trying to stay under the radar of the teacher to avoid any possible detentions. After explaining what he had discovered and his planned trip to the realm of the Far Frozen, the three degenerated into everyday chatter about the newest update for _Doom_, plans for a movie night the next weekend, and ideas for things to do the next summer.

When the bell rang, they packed up their belongings and said farewell, English being the only class the three shared that day. And as Sam headed off to History, Tucker pulled Danny aside,

"Dude, did you hear what Tetslaff has planned for today? _Dodge ball,_" Danny groaned, slumping against a nearby locker,

"We're gonna get our butts kicked! Besides Mikey and Nathan, we're the weakest targets in the gym!" Tucker patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Don't worry, with all of that ghost hunting we do we should at least be able to decently dodge a red rubber ball. And your aim has improved, sort of."

At the last comment, Danny stuck out his tongue and muttered, "My aim has totally improved."

Tucker smirked, "With ectoblasts. When was the last time you threw a ball and actually managed to hit something?"

Looking slightly defeated, Danny spoke up again, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, if we're late we'll have it even worse." As the duo jogged off towards their imminent demise, they failed to notice the confused eyes following them from inside the locker they had been leaning against.

Glad that being stuffed in a locker had at least saved him from being pummeled in gym, Mikey stared through the slits in the door at the retreating backs of Danny and Tucker, wondering what in the world the two had been talking about. Since when did they hunt ghosts?

_BAM!_ As yet another nerd was bowled over by a well-aimed shot from Dash and a few of his teammates, Danny and Tucker shared a worried glance.

"It's a war zone!" Tucker yelled, pretending to have a heart attack and swaying on his feet, "We're all gonna die!"

Danny reached over and smacked him, laughing all the while, "Whatever dude, we can totally make it through this with minimal bruising."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, "At least we'll be better off than Nathan." At this, both boys spared a glance for the cubby nerd at the back of the court trying to avoid everything and everyone as best he could, a large red spot on his forehead from one of Dash's throws.

"Speaking of Nathan," Danny started, "He's had it unusually rough today. With our incredible skills – _duck!_" He paused to yell, shoving Tucker out of the way as a ball whistled past their heads and nicked Nathan in the shoulder, forcing him to run another lap, "And with Mikey's absence, he's the new main target."

Tucker nodded sagely, nodding his head slightly, "Sucks to be him right now,"

Rolling his eyes, Danny snorted, "No duh Captain Obvious." Seeing a relatively slow ball sailing in their direction, Danny moved to catch it, succeeding for once although he ended up tripping as soon as he grabbed it. Ignoring Tucker's laughs, he looked around for someone to hand it to, knowing that if he threw it, it would most likely land nowhere near his target and be moving way to fast to avoid suspicion. Ever since his powers had slowly begun leaking into his human form he'd had some trouble controlling things like his strength. As he spotted someone he was on friendly terms with, he called out their name and lightly tossed them the ball, wincing as they had to take a step back when it hit them.

"Sorry!" He yelled before turning back to Tucker, "So what were you-" A large red ball smacking into the side of his face interrupted his question and as he fell over he heard Dash's obnoxious laugh ringing in his ears from across the gym.

"Hey, Fentonio!" He taunted, waving another ball around as Danny ran his lap, "This one's for your geek friend!"

Now Danny was a very protective person, which was one of the factors that led to him becoming a hero in the first place, and while he was fine with being taunted and ridiculed himself, _no one_touched his friends or family if he could help it. Dealing with Dash was hard enough, but when he blatantly threatened Tucker…influenced by his anger and seeming inability to do anything, Danny's powers flared up. One of the balls by Dash's feet faintly glowed green for a moment before flying upwards and smacking Dash under his chin, knocking him over and making him bite his tongue hard enough to draw a bit of blood.

Surprised by this show of his developing telekinesis, Danny stopped running and made eye contact with an incredulous Tucker. As Dash yelled something about possessed balls, which earned him a few snickers from various people, Danny walked over to check if he was okay, guilt eating away at him. Dash may have deserved something for being an all-around jerk, but Danny was stronger than him in more ways than one and hurting him was only stooping to his level. The fact that it was unintentional was of little consequence in Danny's mind, and he frowned, deciding to focus on this power as much as he could since at the moment it was uncontrolled and rather dangerous.

"You okay Dash?" He asked, holding out his hand to help the bigger boy up only to be shoved out of the way as Dash glared at him.

"Like I need help from you _Fenturd_," He snarled, stalking off in another direction. Danny's irritation at being so rudely rejected manifested as Dash himself glowed and then stumbled forward as if something had violently tried to push him over. Danny took a step back as Dash looked around murderously, searching for whoever had done it.

This was too much. While he was glad this power was relatively weak, it was still too dangerous at the moment, so he turned to Tetslaff as she made her way across the court to see what the disturbance was,

"Um, Ms. Tetslaff? I feel sick; can I go to the nurse's office?" Grunting a yes, the teacher walked over to the ring of people surrounding Dash and started demanding to know why they had decided to take a vacation in the middle of her class.

Walking out of the gym, Danny didn't hear their frightened responses or see Tucker's confused face watching him leave.

After leaving Mrs. Norris's office with a few half-baked explanations about his stomach feeling better, Danny walked off towards the lunch room, his brow furrowed. He needed to find out how to control his powers, get a better grasp on them. Dash might not have been badly hurt today, but what about in the future? What if it was someone he cared about? His powers were only growing as the time passed, and while his control was improving as well, the power vastly outweighed it.

The other day he had accidentally frozen one of his sister's books solid when she had annoyed him with questions about his day, his friends, and his future. She had begun lecturing him on the importance of choosing a good college and good friends, but five minutes in Danny had snapped and slapped away the book she was trying to show him before stalking upstairs. Following after him, Jazz showed him the solidified mass of paper and asked him what had happened.

And two weeks ago when he had pulled Tucker out of the way of a locker door he had almost broken his arm.

It was getting to be too much, his friends and family were suffering and he had no idea of how to stop it. Asking Vlad for help was out of the question, the fruitloop would probably try to brainwash him or something, and with his parents trying to disintegrate his other half he couldn't exactly go to them for help. He felt like he had this huge burden placed on his shoulders, he felt like… Superman. He couldn't hug people, shake their hands, or even open doors without being careful how he did it so as not to hurt anyone or destroy any property. And while there were upsides, it was still hard on him.

Having his face suddenly collide with the wall made him lose this train of thought though, and Dash's voice in his ear only proved to aggravate his already riled up emotions.

"I might not have been able to nail Foley, Fentina," He whispered, venom coating his voice, "But no one's around, so your whiney hide is just ready for a beating." A few other members of the football team leaned against the surrounding lockers to act as lookouts and shields, but almost as soon as they did so the hallway lit up green and ghostly electricity arched through them. Surprised, Dash let Danny drop to the ground, and after deciding that the yells his teammates had let out would most likely attract an adult who would question their reason for being there, he sent a suspicious glance Danny's way and ran off with his buddies.

Rubbing his face sorely, Danny mulled over what had just happened. He didn't even know he had a ghost stinger, let alone that it could do _that_. He wasn't really worried about Dash and his friends since it had seemed more like a powerful static shock than actual electrocution, and the fact that he had been ganged up upon kind of overpowered his guilt. Without a second thought he continued on his way to the cafeteria, confident in the fact that Dash, or anyone on the football team for that matter, would be unable to link the odd occurrences to him.

As he pushed through one of the large doors to the lunch room, he joined the lunch line and absently looked around for his friends. Being on one of the lowest rungs of the social ladder, their lunch spot tended to move around a lot, people taking their seats and all. Sending a weak smile to the grumpy lunch lady, he grimaced a bit at the aged peas and slightly gray mashed potatoes she heaped onto his tray, avoiding the questionable meat altogether.

Having spotted Sam and Tucker standing near the doors that lead to the lawn, he hurried over to them.

"Hey guys," He smiled, "We sitting outside?" Sam gave him a look, rolling her eyes as she opened the doors and stepped outside,

"No, Danny, we're standing her because our feet were glued to the ground." Danny chucked as he followed her.

"Are you mocking my perfectly reasonable question?" He asked, only for her to turn around with a comically stricken face and reply,

"Who? Me? Why would I mock such a perfectly retarded question from my perfectly retarded friend?" Ignoring Tucker's fake gags and coughed _'Lovebirds!_' The trio walked over to one of the large trees around the school and proceeded to stare at their food. Watching as Danny poked his peas with his fork, Tucker's face screwed up in disgust.

"Eww," He muttered, poking it himself and watching as it seemed to jiggle a bit, "That's so gross. How can you eat this junk Sam?" Narrowing her eyes, Sam looked up at him.

"Eat _what_ Tucker?"

Not noticing the deadly tone of her voice, Tucker continued, "This green…_stuff_." He finally said after inspecting Danny's tray, "I think it's _alive_."

"It's less alive than that gray sludge on your own tray Tucker, and no doubt healthier. It might be old, but at least it wasn't a living, breathing, thinking animal!"

Looking up, Tucker quickly retorted, "And what's wrong with eating animals, huh? They do it all the time." Seeing that both his friends were now riled up, Danny sighed. So much for a quiet lunch period.

"It's inhumane! Raising the poor creatures in cramped spaces with mush for food then slaughtering them in a mass exodus before they've had a chance to live their lives just so that pigs like you can gorge yourselves on their flesh is unacceptable!"

Tucker snorted, "That salad you're eating was once a living, breathing head of lettuce that was killed in a mass exodus just so you could avoid eating a cow that was killed in a mass exodus. By avoiding eating the cow you support the killing of billions of other living things!"

"Yes," Sam ground out, "But the lettuce wasn't sentient!"

"How do you know?" Tucker taunted, "When Undergrowth came and you were all zombie-fied you sure were convinced they were sentient, you said that they were _family_on top of that, which means you're a cannibal _and_ a murderer!"

"Yeah but those were _ghost_ plants Tucker! They had _teeth_! I bet if they tried to eat _you_ you'd feel less inclined to eat the poor animals your sludge is made out of since you were almost in the same position!"

"They _did_ try to eat me!" Tucker retorted hotly, "So technically I _was_ in the same position! And you know what?" He took a forkful of sludge and shoved it into his mouth, pulling a face as he swallowed it, "I feel _fine_ about eating this!" After coughing a bit he added, "Sort of."

"Glutton!"

"Hypocrite!"

"Murderer!"

"Cannibal!"

Fed up with the repetitive argument, Danny finally yelled out, "_Guys!_"

Getting the attention of the arguing friends, Danny continued as an exasperated sigh slipped through his throat, "As much as I'd _love_ to hear you guys call each other names, I'd like to pretend to eat my garbage in peace."

Still shooting each other looks, Sam and Tucker backed down, grumbling protests all the way.

Then, without warning, Danny tensed and shivered, looking around as his breath became visible. _'Really?_' He thought crossly, _'Just when I'm about to eat… this garbage? Eh, never mind, maybe I should be thankful..._'

Giving up on eating, he ran to the nearest trash can and dumped the questionable contents of his tray in it before leaving his tray on the pile of other trays that had built up by the trash receptacle. As he ran to the boy's bathroom, he saw Dash and Co. stand up and move to follow him. _'Typical,'_ He thought, _'They just don't know when to give up.'_

The minute he got into the bathroom, he locked himself in one of the stalls and whispered a quick, "_I'm going ghost!_"

Going ghost was like nothing a normal person ever had, or ever would, experience. It was dying and feeling so alive you wanted to burst at the same time, it was letting yourself go, letting yourself turn into this fantastic thing that felt so incredibly amazing you almost couldn't handle it. Rules didn't apply to you; gravity couldn't touch you, nothing in the world mattered but that one breathtaking moment when in a flash of light, you _changed_. You weren't a normal, geeky kid anymore, you were something special. Something important. And he felt it all every time he breathed those three words.

Invisibly phasing through the ceiling, Danny caught a glimpse of the football players bursting into the bathroom to look for him and smiled quietly to himself. _'Have fun finding me boys.'_ He thought as he sped through the sky looking for whatever had set off his ghost sense.

After searching for a good fifteen minutes Danny was getting irritated and feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. About to give up on the search (again), he shivered and then heard the tell-tale thrum of a motorcycle… getting louder by the second?

Without another thought Danny released his ability to fly and freefell a good thirty feet before catching himself and looking up fast enough to see Johnny's cackling form zoom through the air where he had been seconds before. Frowning in annoyance, Danny immediately began searching the town for Johnny's Shadow. While Johnny was an irritating jerk, Shadow was malicious and destructive, putting people at risk as its bad luck destroyed everything it touched.

Spotting the dark specter by the theater, Danny dove straight for it and released an ectoblast that exploded on contact and sent the creature into the street screeching in pain. Gathering itself it glared at him, red eyes glowing angrily, before sinking through the street and causing it to cave in. Danny facepalmed, knowing that he would be blamed for the destruction later on; and seeing as how this was a fairly busy street the city council wouldn't be the only one pissed off at him.

Phasing through the street himself, Danny tried to use his ghost sense to locate Shadow but only ended up leaving himself open for an attack as it flew through a now crumbling sewer wall and tackled him, trying to claw at his face.

Being covered in raw sewage wasn't exactly on Danny's To Do List, and it only served to make him angrier, so when Shadow failed to claw his eyes out and changed tactics, trying to bite a chunk out of his face instead, he released a weak Ghostly Wail right in its face. Smacking into a wall, Shadow slumped to the ground, too dazed by the sonic attack to do more than hiss and try to steady itself.

Danny decided to not give it any time to recuperate and reached into the little pocked of space by his hip for the thermos he kept and sucked the now weakened ghost in, screwing the cap shut tightly and shaking it a bit in retribution for the attempted face mauling. Smelling himself and grimacing, Danny went intangible and watched as the sewer contents fell through him and back into the sluggish stream where it had come from. As he decided to go check out whatever visible damage Shadow had made before being caught, Danny remembered Johnny's attempt to flatten him and decided to go for a bit of revenge and get back at the biker.

It was then that Danny encountered yet another odd event. Floating in the street with a ghost scanner was what seemed to be one of Walker's goons, albeit a weirdly dressed one. Instead of a shield and faceplate, it had a small glowing box and the aforementioned ghost scanner, and was turning in circles shaking its head and grumbling to itself.

"Darn scanner, of all the days to malfunction…"

When Danny cleared his throat the ghost looked up and smiled, relieved for some reason, "Say, you wouldn't happen to have seen a teen with a motorcycle fly by would you?"

Crossing his arms Danny looked the ghost up and down, "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't, who wants to know?"

Sighing, the ghost crossed its own arms and frowned. "His truancy officer. Now have you or haven't you seen him?"

Shocked showing plainly across his face, Danny nodded, "Uh, yeah." He finally said, "Guy tried to flatten me with his bike and sicced his Shadow on the town."

Nodding, the ghost spoke up, "Yeah, sounds like him alright. Speaking of his Shadow, have you seen it? It disappeared off my scanner and I have to find it too before I leave." Danny held out his thermos,

"It's in here."

The ghost smiled, "Well that's convenient. Mind releasing it?" Danny's eyebrows raised and he drew the thermos closer to himself,

"And why would I do that? I just caught the thing."

Giving Danny a patronizing look, the ghost shook the glowing box it held in front of Danny's face, "You didn't think you were the only one with a GCD did you?"

"A what?" Danny asked, confused at the unfamiliar term.

"A GCD," The ghost restated, "You know, a Ghost Containment Device?"

"Ohh," Danny said, "Um, okay. Here, hold on a minute." Shaking the device for a few seconds, he opened the lid and pressed the release button, letting the device spew a dizzy Shadow onto the pavement. Without wasting another moment, the unfamiliar ghost tossed the box at it and Danny watched in fascination as Shadow seemed to dissolve the moment the GCD touched it.

As the ghost held out its hand, Danny stared at it surprised, "You want to shake my hand?" His peculiar statement earned him an odd look, and blushing he reached out his own hand and shook the one offered. "Er, sorry, stupid question." Rubbing the back of his neck Danny smiled, "But I know where you might be able to find Johnny, follow me." As he took off into the sky, Danny turned to look at the ghost following him, "Hey, what's your name anyways?"

"Omar." The ghost yelled over the wind and Danny nodded,

"Well it was nice to meet you Omar." Turning invisible Danny touched down at the Elmerton High School and pointed at Johnny's flirting form. "He usually ends up over here since he knows I go to Casper and it's the nearest school with girls his age." Shaking his hand once more, Omar thanked him for his help and floated off towards Johnny, leaving Danny to take off towards his own school.

And speaking of his own school, Danny was positive he had just missed his entire lunch period and would be late if he didn't hurry up, so he sped up and changed back the moment he touched down in the bathroom, running towards his math class as fast as he could.

Sending him a small smile, Sam pointed to the seat she had saved for him and discreetly handed him a few things she had gotten for him from the vending machine, knowing he would probably be hungry.

With a grateful look he sat down and phased a pair of Poptarts out of her bag, trying to avoid making any noise. He had seen what Mr. Spalding did to the last kid to eat in his Algebra II class.

As he munched on the snacks, he thought about what he had seen that day. A truancy officer? For Johnny? And a _ghost_ truancy officer nonetheless? It was ridiculous; Johnny was dead, therefore he didn't go to school, it was logic plain and simple.

His confusion must have showed, because the Sam reached over and poked him with her pencil, bringing him back to reality. Pulling out a piece of paper as he stuffed the last of the Poptart into his mouth he stole her pencil and wrote her a quick note explaining what had happened. She stared at it contemplatively for a moment, her lips pursed, before replying that there was probably more to the story and that they should investigate more. Having started on a candy bar, he nodded back.

The rest of the class passed quietly, Danny only needing to leave once to catch the Box Ghost. After a few passed notes, he and Sam seemed content to just take notes and doodle in their notebooks until Sam frowned. Writing a quick note to herself, she leaned back on her desk and stared at it pensively, biting her lip and staying like that for the last ten minutes or so of the period.

With the loud clanging of the bell in their ears, Danny and Sam entered the chaotic mess of the hallways. Deciding she had waited enough, she reached over and pulled him over to the lockers and out of the way of most of the students rushing by.

"Hey," She began, a determined look on her face, "When was the last time you saw Vlad?" Danny looked into the mass of students and grabbed her wrist, dragging her through them in order to reach his locker,

"Hmm? Oh I don't know… a week or two ago. Why?" He answered absentmindedly, opening his locker and getting what he needed for chemistry as he did so.

Sam let out a huff before continuing, "Doesn't that seem, I don't know, _suspicious_ to you?" Having gathered what he needed Danny looked at her,

"Not really. I mean, I have more time to sleep and do homework without worrying about some evil plan he might have thought up. Kind of nice actually." He smiled, "Hey, maybe he finally got a cat!" Dodging the punch Sam aimed for his arm he barked out a laugh, "Got to head over to chemistry before Mr. Sanders gives me another detention, see you after school!" He shouted as he ran off, barely keeping hold of his books in the crowded halls.

Watching him disappear, Sam narrowed her eyes. He was so dumb sometimes, if it wasn't for her suspicious musings he would have had a lot more problems than usual. Deciding to do a little more research before she made any hasty decisions, Sam left for her psychology class and staying only long enough to get her flustered teacher to sign her a note excusing her to the nurse's office. As she set off down the hall, she grinned wickedly, fake cramps were always fun to pull on male teachers.

Making a quick call to her grandma when the nurse left for a moment, Sam was soon excused from school and picked up by their butler, who promptly dropped her off at the library. Entering it, she cracked her knuckles loudly, time to do a little research on dear old Vlad's latest activities.

Sitting in Mr. Sanders' class, Danny was off in his own world thinking when Sam's comment about Vlad worked its way into his head. Looking decidedly like Sam, he frowned a bit and leaned forward, staring past the teacher's head as he thought more about what she had said. _'When was the last time you saw Vlad?_' When _was_ the last time he had seen the old fruitloop? Things had been oddly quiet as of late and in his relief at the decrease in attacks, he had overlooked what that might have meant. Was he planning an invasion or something? Maybe another overly complicated plot to kill his father? Knowing Vlad, any assumptions they made would probably way off until they did some formal research.

Paying attention only long enough to jot down a few notes about electron configuration and orbitals, he unceremoniously dumped most of the small lab planned for the day on his unlucky partner and sat back, ignoring his irate classmate's angry looks as he began writing down any ideas he had about Vlad. After handing his partner what little work he had managed, he ran from the class, dodging students coming at him with practiced ease.

As he approached his locker, he noticed Tucker leaning on it and staring intently at it, typing furiously on the tiny keypad of his blackberry. Shoving his friend over playfully, he opened his locker and began shoving books into his backpack.

"So where's Sam? She usually gets here before you."

Tucker finally looked up, a large smile plastered on his face, "Hey, you know that Andy girl? She didn't say no to the dance!"

Danny turned and rolled his eyes, "Well what _did_ she say?"

Lightly blushing, Tucker grinned sheepishly, "Er, she didn't say anything, she had to go. _But_," He said, interrupting his friend before anything could be said, "She didn't say no!" Danny laughed and slammed his locker shut with a bang,

"Way to go Tuck, you got a girl to delay saying no to you!"

This time Tucker was the one doing the shoving, "Hey! She could say yes!"

Danny snorted, "Yeah, as if. The day a girl agrees to go to a dance with you is the day I confess my undying love for socks. To _Dash_."

Tucker grinned, "You're on bro!" Fist-bumping, Danny looked around again, avoiding the aforementioned bully as he pushed some unlucky freshman into his locker.

"Anyways, where's Sam?" He said,

"Oh, she gave some bogus excuse to Ferguson about cramps and had her butler pick her up from the nurse's office. Went to the library to check out something about Vlad."

_There's Sam for you,_ Danny thought, _Always on top of any problem._

"Yeah, she talked about it to me after math. Come on, the library's like six blocks from here, we better get walking."

"Man!" Tucker whined, "Why can't we tell her to send her butler over?" Danny sent him a knowing look,

"Yeah, like Sam would waste gas on that."

"Oh alright," Tucker muttered dejectedly, trudging alone behind his friend, "Why doesn't she have a phone anyways? We have to e-mail her _everything_."

Pulling Tucker along as they jay-walked across the road, Danny replied, "Something about them being wasteful and bad for the environment. It's not like they're going stop making them just cause she doesn't buy one, I don't get what she thinks she can achieve with this. Oh well," He shrugged, "Her decision. Although it does make communicating a pain."

Spending the rest of the walk talking about everyday things, the boys soon arrived at the library, where a determined Sam waited for them with a notebook full of information.

"Guys!" She said, her voice laced with exasperation, "What took you so long? I swear you two are some of the slowest people I know!"

"Yeah, yeah," Tucker griped as the trio made their way to the back of the library to put their things down, "Little Miss Fitness doesn't like all the lazy people." He looked up, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, "Lazy people _with cell phones!_" Whipping out his small phone, he waved it in her face tauntingly, "Ooh, look! It's a direct affront to the environment! Look out Mother Nature, the tech's taking ove- _ow!_" Having tired of his small rant, Sam had taken the initiative and lightly kicked the boy on his shin.

"Shut up techno-geek. Us intelligent people have to talk."

Tucker fell onto a nearby swivel chair and spun around, a pout on his face, "I'm intelligent too!"

Sam reached over and patted his head condescendingly, "Sure you are." She said mockingly before turning to Danny, "Okay, back to business." Logging back into one of the public computers she pulled up several sites.

Danny groaned, "You mean we have to read online? I barely stand reading normally!"

Sam snorted, "Well printing wastes paper and kills trees, so I guess it's your lucky day. Okay," Turning to the screen which showed an article from a prominent news source she began reading a section out loud, "_'As Mr. Masters misses yet another annual fundraising event, people have started to wonder where the reclusive billionaire has disappeared to. Having made several large donations in years passed and being a regular attendee, his continued absences have begun to raise questions.'_ This is what I mean!" She exclaimed, "Vlad _never_does stuff like this! He dots all his i's and crosses all his t's, and missing something he's attended for almost two decades is _definitely_ not in character!"

Danny leaned forward in the seat he had decided to sit in, resting his elbows on his knees, "Yeah," He agreed, "At first I didn't notice him missing since I was too busy catching up with schoolwork and sleep, but three weeks without any sort of contact? That's bizarre even for him." Spinning around in his chair, Tucker sounded his opinion,

"I don't mean to be a spoilsport or anything, but isn't this looking a gift-horse in the mouth?"

Sam and Danny rounded on him, "Of course not!" They said in unison before blushing lightly and looking away from each other.

Tucker rolled his eyes, "Oh come on guys, when was the last time Vlad disappeared like this?" The blush on Danny's face quickly disappeared and his eyes clouded with an emotion Sam couldn't place.

"When he made Danielle," He said, the light atmosphere around him disappearing, "And I don't want to give him a chance to do something like that again. He almost killed her and I won't let something like that happen to anyone else." A moment of thick silence passed before Tucker cleared his throat awkwardly,

"Er, then I guess we should keep checking him out…" Sam let out a small smile of relief before turning back to the computer.

"Yeah, and here," She changed screens, showing yet another creditable news website, "It says he hasn't attended any recent board meetings either, the other board members have begun to get restless and if he doesn't get a hold of the situation he might be having some serious issues within the company. Not that I think he deserves to stay in charge or anything, I mean, a new head might take the initiative and introduce more energy efficient and environmentally friendly ways to run the place. Have you seen the amount of paper wasted by big offices every day? It's unbelievable, a simple switch to electronic and-"

Cutting her off before she went full-on rant mode, Danny pointed to the screen, "Mhm, I totally agree. Now what's this?" Turning to look at what he had gestured to, Sam lost her train of thought,

"Oh, let me check." Giving Tucker a discreet high five behind her back Danny grinned for a moment before returning his attention to his other friend. "Hmm." She finally said, "Looks like it's just some random info about technology and the ghost zone that Vlad had published."

Tucker's interest seemed to have been piqued and he sat up a bit, "Well say more than _'some random info about technology and the ghost zone_' Sam," He teased, "Some people here are interested in tech developments."

Sam rolled her eyes but obliged, clicking on the link, "Umm… just strengthening ghost shields by changing their frequency to a higher level. Something about it affecting ectoplasm more efficiently and how ambient Ghost Zone ectoplasm affects man-made technology."

A slight frown flitted across Tucker's face before he smiled widely, "Well, if you're done with your Google search some of us have _real_ investigating to do."

Laughing, Sam backed away from the computer console with her hands up in the air, "Whatever you say Tuck, you're better with this stuff anyways." Tucker chuckled as he scooted closer to the computer,

"Well duh, it _is_ my thing after all."

Sam smiled and moved Tucker's old seat closer to Danny's, "To see what he's doing better," She quickly explained when Danny raised a questioning eyebrow.

After fifteen minutes or so of what seemed like magic to Sam and Danny, Tucker made a small sound of triumph, "Got it!"

Danny, who had been poking Sam, looked up startled, "Got what?"

Peering over Tucker's shoulder he checked out what his friend had pulled up, "Private electric bills from Vlad's mansions?" He asked, confusion lacing his tone,

"Well," Tucker began explaining, "Everyone says Vlad's been missing from all of these social and business events, so logically he'd be home. But finding which one is the problem, thus the records. But," He raised a finger, "After checking them all out, they're _all_ under the normal electricity use Vlad usually has when he visits. One has a bit more, but it indicates he's almost never home." Tucker turned to face Sam and Danny who scooted a bit farther apart, "So if dear old Vladdie's not home and not out on the town then… where is he?"

The group's brainstorming was interrupted by the loud ringing of Danny's phone, which made the group jump as well as getting the librarian to send them an angry look even though they were almost the only ones at the library.

Answering hurriedly, Danny put the phone to his ear, "_Where are you?_" A voice instantly said, not even bothering to greet him.

Danny rolled his eyes, relaxing as he did so, "Hey Jazz, nice to hear from you too." He drawled, "And I'm at the library." Almost hearing the joyful smile spreading across his sister's face, he got ready for another lecture.

"_Oh Danny, that's so great! I'm glad you're finally using the resources available to you to help further your education. I was talking with mom and dad and they said your grades have been improving and I noticed you seem more awake during the day. I'm guessing that your, um, special thing has gotten better. Well, not that it's getting better, that you're dealing with it better. Speaking of which, as you get older and do it more does it get stronger or spread or both? I had a theory about that after hearing mom and dad talking about ectoplasmic energy stabilization and how-_"

"Yeah Jazz, I get it. Any reason you called?" He said, interrupting her to save himself from dying of boredom.

"_Oh!_" She exclaimed, "_Mom and dad want you home. Well, mom does, dad is still in the lab._"

"Okay thanks Jazz," He said, packing whatever he'd taken out into his backpack, "I'll be home soon, bye. Love you." Hanging up, he turned to his friends, "Sorry guys, duty calls. I'll head home then check out that pendant thing my parents found then head to Frostbite's to…" Trailing off, he noticed their confused looks. "What?"

"Pendant thing?" Tucker asked, blinking in confusion.

"Yeah," Sam added, "What are you talking about?"

Danny smacked himself in the forehead, "Oh yeah!" He said, "Lancer interrupted me before I could tell you guys! My parents found this weird ghost amulet or something and it looks kinda suspicious so I took a picture and was gonna give it to Frostbite to find out what it was exactly."

A twin chorus of _'Ohhh_' echoed from his friends and he smiled, "See you guys tomorrow then? I'm probably not going to get home until, like, nine." Sending them a mock salute he turned on his heel and left, questions about Vlad still running through his head.

**LINE BREAK**

Dinner was a quiet affair, with everyone in their own world. Jazz was reading some psychology book whose title he could barely even pronounce, his dad was tinkering with some sort of gadget, and his mom was writing something (no doubt about ghosts) into her notebook. As soon as everyone had finished eating and the kitchen had been cleaned, he told Jazz to cover for him and then left for his room and locked the door, transforming and dropping invisibly into the lab, knowing that his dad would be preoccupied with dessert for at least another half an hour. After grabbing a spare thermos and making sure he had the photo of the pendant, he shot into the Ghost Zone as fast as he could, headed straight for the Far Frozen.

Dodging a few ghosts that looked ready for a fight, the fifteen minute flight went by without a hitch and when he touched down on the windswept frozen ground he let out a sigh of contentment. Opening his core, he let the cryogenic ectoplasm of the landscape flow through and interact with his own energy, giving him a small energy boost as well as making him feel refreshed. Deciding to alert the inhabitants of his presence to avoid any attacks, he sent out a burst of frozen energy into the ground, feeling as it spread throughout the area until it faded from his senses, knowing the particular energy signature of it would tell them it was him.

A few moments later, a small group of yetis could be seen approaching on their hover vehicles in the distance. A smile splitting his face, Danny jogged towards them.

Jumping down from his technological chariot, Frostbite hurried towards him, wrapping him in a giant yeti hug that left him breathless.

"Great One!" He boomed, looking overjoyed, "I rode over as soon as I felt your signature! Your arrival is a joyous occasion for us all, as we speak a feast is being prepared!" Finally letting Danny fall, Frostbite stepped back and appraised him. "You have grown since we last saw each other, Great One."

"Yeah I guess," Danny said, ducking his head bashfully, "But, um, I came here to have something checked out and might not be able to stay for the, er, feast."

Frostbite's grin never wavered, his voice just as buoyant as before, "All is well Great One, for your very visit warrants a celebration! Even if you leave for your home world we will be overjoyed!"

Glad his leaving wouldn't cause any hard feelings, Danny pulled out the picture, "Oh, hey, this is why I came." Handing it over, he continued, "I found it in my parent's lab this morning and was wondering if you knew what it was.

Frostbite stilled and looked at the picture intently, "Forgive me Great One, but I am unfamiliar with this relic. Perhaps we should visit the library archives, it is very possible that they may contain information on what it is." Handing it over to a nodding Danny who pocketed it quickly, he then grabbed him and lightly tossed him into one of the hover vehicles, "Come, we may search now!"

As the vehicles shot off, Danny quickly grabbed a railing to keep from falling and laughed, "Whatever you say Frostbite!" He yelled over the wind, this was going to be fun.

**LINE BREAK**

Now it must be understood that while Danny adored the yetis of the Far Frozen and they adored him back, he had had little time to visit. Whether he was catching rogue ghosts or catching up with homework, he had little time to socialize with the denizens of the Zone that he was on friendly terms with, so overall he had only been able to come to this icy land a handful of times before. Therefore, when he arrived in the vast archive of the yetis, he was astounded. This was another part of their city he had not been able to explore, and even though he wasn't much of a reader he still wished he'd been able to see it on his other visits.

Vast shelves of books easily fifty feet tall seemed to stretch on forever, their blue glasslike surfaces shining in the light of the glowing blue crystals embedded in the ceiling. The walls were a dark gray stone with elegant carvings, with columns of the same material interspersed throughout the area, giving the area a cool and composed atmosphere.

Noticing Danny's awestruck face, Frostbite chucked, "Yes, this library is the result of many centuries of research, collecting, and discoveries. It is one of the most extensive in the Ghost Zone and only grows with each decade. In fact, the Ghost Writer is a frequent visitor although he detests the climate." At the mention of the Ghost Writer Danny paused, was the Ghost Writer an adversary or an ally? After that whole Christmas fiasco he wasn't quite sure. He'd have to check that out sometime in the future.

"So how exactly to we find out anything about the pendant thingy in _this_," He gestured to vast array of books before them, " It goes on forever!"

Frostbite clapped Danny on the back, making him stumble slightly, "Why, we ask the Keeper of course! He and his apprentices know the place of every book in our care."

Danny gaped, "_Every_ book? How is that even possible?"

A raspy voice answered from behind him and he spun around, seeing a thin yeti with milky yellow eyes standing hear the entrance they had just passed through, "When one has an affinity for knowledge and spends much time here, the Library has a tendency to share parts of itself with them."

"Ah, yes, this is Irfan. Irfan, this-" The wizened yeti cut off his leader gently,

"The Great One, I know." He stretched out a hand, "It is a pleasure to finally meet the one who saved our homes."

A bit embarrassed, Danny shook the other ghost's hand, "It's nice to meet you too, Irfan, this place is, it's…" He trailed off, searching for a word to properly describe the warehouse of knowledge in front of them.

"A wonderful place welcome to any ghost who wishes to enter and learn." Irfan supplied, a small smile on his furry face, "Feel free to visit whenever you please." With that, the elderly ghost turned and walked silently away, seemingly swallowed by the shelves.

Frostbite smiled, "Irfan has lived within this library since I was created and has rarely been known to leave its confines. Come, his apprentice, Talib, will help us with our search." Turning to his left, the large yeti motioned to an elaborate desk made of the same smooth ice as the shelves, "That is the post of the Keeper and their apprentices, Talib will be near." Walking up to the beautiful desk, Frostbite drew a rune or some sorts onto its surface with ice, a few moments later a yeti in with yellow garments could be seen drifting towards them from another section in the library.

"Yes Frostbite? What is it you wish to know?"

Frostbite asked Danny for the picture, which he quickly handed over, "This," Said Frostbite, giving the picture to the other ghost, "Was found by the creators of the Great One, we wish to know its purpose."

Observing it casually, the other yeti went to sit at the desk, "Mmm…I shall see what I can do." Placing it face down on the surface of the desk and wiping away Frostbite's rune, the Talib closed his eyes. A few moments later when he opened then, they were glowing a bright yellow, the irises having disappeared, his body soon followed. "It is mentioned in several tomes in the Ancient Artifacts section, but the most comprehensive work on it can be found in the Mystic Arts and Biology area. I shall retrieve it." As the glow faded and he stood up and began to leave, he stopped and turned to Frostbite once more, "Oh, and Xue said she needed to speak to you about Isolde. It seemed urgent." Continuing on his way, he soon disappeared just as Irfan had.

Turning to Frostbite to ask about the desk, Danny noticed the frown creasing the ghost's usually happy face.

"What's wrong?" He asked, "Talib said he found the books."

Breaking his train of thought, Frostbite shook his head a bit and smiled, "Nothing Great One, I am very pleased we were successful. I simply need to speak with my daughter."

Danny's jaw dropped, "You have a _daughter_?" He choked out, surprise overtaking him.

Frostbite looked at him, surprise on his own face, "Why of course. Have you never been informed?"

Dumbly, Danny shook his head, "But, but _how_? You're, uh, a ghost."

A look of understanding crossed Frostbite's face, "Great One, ghosts are energy beings. When two ghosts merge pieces of their cores together they have the ability to create a new ghost, a child. Given your origins, I should not have expected you to know this." Finally closing his jaws, Danny pulled himself together.

"Uh, do you have a son too?"

"No, another daughter. Adaeze." A loving smile appeared on his face, "She, Isolde, and my wife Eira are the loves of my afterlife." Still wrapping his mind around the idea that ghosts could have kids and family, Danny only let out a weak smile.

"That's great Frostbite, I'm glad you have someone to love." At that moment, Talib returned holding a thick volume that looked like it was made of some sort of leather whose faint yellow glow gave away its ghostly origin. Along its spine it read _The Effect of Mystical Artifacts on the Core_ in elegant golden letters.

"Here is the book you requested." Handing it over, he sat back down at his desk, "Is that all?" Nodding and thanking him, Frostbite led Danny from the library and into a large dining hall with sounds of laughter and talking seeping through the doors.

"Is here where we will part? Must you leave for your home world now?" Frostbite asked.

Danny bit his lip and hugged the large book a bit tighter, "Well…I guess I could stay for a little bit…" He finally said, being swept up and pushed into the hall with a loud 'Wonderful!' from Frostbite as soon as the words left his mouth.

Everything got quiet for a moment while Frostbite announced Danny's arrival to the crowd of yetis and Danny waved awkwardly, an embarrassed blush creeping up his neck onto his face, but as soon as the introductions were over and he was led to Frostbite's table conversation resumed. As he neared the gilded stone table, Danny got his first look at Frostbite's family.

Unlike their male counterparts female yeti's tended to be just as large as male ones but much slimmer, with smaller horns and slightly more delicate features. However, their claws were just as sharp and their powers just as versatile, making them equally dangerous when situations occurred, having traded strength for speed.

Of the three ghosts in front of him, only one seemed to fit into that category. Even sitting, she was taller, and unlike the two sitting by her she has that thin, lithe look of an athlete, and the glint in her eyes suggested she would gladly partake in a fight if she so pleased. All in all, she looked nothing like Frostbite. The other two looked softer, sweeter, and altogether more pleasant to be around. He sat by them before Frostbite could put him next to the Xena the Warrior Princess. As they settled in and Danny was served a dish of glowing food, one of the softer looking females cleared her throat.

"Frostbite, who is our guest?" Judging by her more elaborate gold crown, Danny guessed she was Frostbite's mate.

"Forgive me Eira," He said, putting down a goblet he had been about to drink from, "For I forget not all have met Daniel," At the name, Danny cringed, although it did sound better coming from Frostbite's mouth than Vlad's. "The Great One."

Hearing the title, Eira turned and gave Danny a warm smile, "Welcome to the Far Frozen Great One, our home is always open to you and your kin."

"Thank you Eira," Danny said, "Your offer is appreciated." Turning to the other soft looking one, Frostbite spoke again.

"This is Adaeze, my youngest. She takes after her mother in almost every aspect."

A polite nod and small smile were directed to him from Adaeze before Frostbite let go and clapped his hand on the taller yeti's shoulder, "And this is Isolde, our first daughter, the heir to our throne should anything happen to us. A warrior in spirit and body, she is a worthy opponent."

Turning a critical eye to him, she spoke up, "You do not seem very great to me. Have you any skills with a blade?" A short gasp came from his right and a sharp _'Isolde!_' from Eira sounded out. Frostbite's smile grew a bit weary,

"Isolde, mind your manners. I taught him myself when he first came."

She sniffed, "Very well. Mother, Father, I told Pyry and Gwyneira I would visit them. May I leave?"

Sighing Frostbite waved her away with a _'Very well, enjoy yourself._' After she had gone, Adaeze leaned over to her mother and whispered something quietly before receiving a nod and turning to Danny.

"Is it true you live in the human world Great One?" She asked timidly. Hearing the title from the adults was almost bearable, but when someone who looked his age said it, Danny just felt plain embarrassed.

"Please, call me Danny." He said with a smile, "And yeah, I do. I'm half human after all, I can't be in the Ghost Zone 24/7. I have school to go to and friends to be with." A curious glint entered Adaeze's eyes and she leaned forward a bit, losing some of her shyness.

"Half human? Such things are rare since humans have no core energy to share and ghosts share no other means of reproduction."

Finally having something to talk about, Danny answered quickly, "Oh, I wasn't born like this. I was killed, er, half killed, in an accident in my parents' lab. I turned the ghost portal on when I was inside and…" Making a face, he laughed a bit, "Well, it wasn't the most pleasant of things to go through."

"Human electricity mixing with the ambient ectoplasmic energy of the Ghost Zone and perhaps a nearby coagulation of inactive ectoplasm to bond with might have caused your molecular change. You were extremely lucky to have survived." She said, pausing before she continued, "And if you go to school, why had Isolde never spoken to me of you? Surely knowing of your power she would have at least shared _something_."

Danny looked at her oddly, "Uh, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if Isolde was going to my school. She's kinda hard to miss. My parents would have had a blast chasing her around and trying to catch her."

This time Adaeze was confused, and she leaned back a bit. "Your parents? Why would your human parents be attacking a student at Anima Vesna?"

"Anima what now?" Danny said, "I go to Casper High."

Frowning, Adaeze turned to Frostbite, "Father, is there another school I was not informed of?"

Frostbite put a large hand on her shoulder, "Dear, the Great One does not attend school in the Zone, his place is in the human world."

Adaeze looked shocked, "But father!" She exclaimed, "How will he learn the full extent of his abilities or his physiology? How will he learn about the Ghost Zone or its leadership?" She turned to Danny, an appalled look on her face, "Do you know _anything_ important?"

"Wait, what?" Danny almost yelled, "What are you talking about? There's a school for ghosts? Is that why a truancy officer was after Johnny this morning?"

Adaeze looked at him disapprovingly, "Do you mean Johnny 13? My sister speaks lowly of him. He seems to think education and knowledge are worthless. All he does is sleep and spend time with his girlfriend Kitty. When I attend this year I will see for myself the level of his incompetence."

"Uh, yeah," Danny managed, "He's always trying to wreck Amity Park or hook up with human girls. Kitty gets pretty mad when he does that. But back to the ghost school," He looked at Frostbite, "What are you guys talking about?"

Eira interrupted him softly, "The Anima Vesna School for Ghosts has been around for millennia, teaching young and newly formed ghosts about themselves, their abilities, and their surroundings. In fact, we have two teachers present now." Calling out to a nearby yeti, she whispered something to them and they scurried off. "Do not worry, they will arrive shortly." A few seconds later, two yetis approached. "Xue, Yukiko." She greeted sweetly, gesturing to Danny, "This is Daniel, the Great One. He wishes to know more about Anima Vesna."

The male and female yetis looked at him before the female spoke up, "Great One, I am Xue and this is Yukiko. You wish to learn more?" When Danny nodded she motioned for him to stand up, "Come with us, we will be able to explain better in a quieter environment."

The following hour was filled with explanations of classes, descriptions of the school, and anything Danny thought to ask. In the end, his head was spinning.

"Do you wish to attend? Your position as well as your status as a newly formed ghost grants you access to the school." Yukiko said, his low voice seeming to stabilize Danny.

"Wait, it hasn't started?" The male ghost shook his head,

"Yes, but it has only been in session for a week or so, you would not have missed anything that could not be quickly retaught."

Danny scratched the back of his neck, "Uh, do you think I could see it? You know, to know what I might be getting into?" Xue and Yukiko shared a look before Xue said something,

"I do not see why not. There are students still there doing classwork or using the power training room." She stood up, "Do you wish to ask Frostbite to accompany us to the school?"

Nodding quietly Danny stood as well, "Would now be okay?" He checked his watch and paled a bit, "I'm kind of past curfew right now." Agreeing, the three left for the dining hall.

Frostbite readily agreed and sent for three yeti's to prepare the hover vehicles. After reaching the end of the snowy terrain, Frostbite, Xue, Yukiko, and Danny dismounted, motioning for the three drivers to leave.

"Come, the vehicles will not work outside of our realm. The rest of the trip will be on our shoulders. You will have to excuse our slowness," He apologized in advance, "We are creatures of the cold, not spirits of the air."

"It's fine," Danny said, a small smile on his face, "Let's go." The flight, which only would have taken Danny around ten minutes, ended up being around forty-five, but when they arrived Danny decided it was worth it. Unlike Casper, which looked old and worn after the years, Anima Vesna seemed…fresh, futuristic almost. Made of shining glass and white stone interspersed with a rainbow of glowing veins, it was beautiful. The two huge glass doors swung open in front of him and Danny drifted into the building, awe clearly evident on his face.

Behind him, the three adult Yeti's grinned, "Come," Xue said, "We will give you a tour." With glass desks, locker-like cubbies built into the walls of the halls, and a dining area, it wasn't that different from Casper. Until Danny saw the training room. Taking up most of the space in the school, it was a large white room with obstacles around the edges, padded floors, and a high, smooth ceiling. Several odd metal and glass chambers were placed in a circle in the center and Danny floated over to them unconsciously.

"Woah…" He breathed, "This is so amazing…"

Yukiko chuckled, "Yes, it is the only school in the Zone and therefore must be as advanced as possible. It is getting late in the human world, is it not? Surely you must leave."

Danny smacked himself in the forehead, "Oh yeah! I'm so dead!" Seeing the odd looks from the ghosts he quickly corrected himself, "Er, in trouble. I'm in a lot of trouble."

Frostbite nodded his head, "Then it is time for you to leave Great One, let us escort you." As they passed through the school Danny looked in as many classrooms as he could, but upon reaching the Ghostly Physiology room, he almost wished he hadn't. Sitting at a desk reading through what looked like a textbook intently was Dani. Pressing his hands up against the glass window in the door, Danny watched her for a moment,

"_Dani_…" He whispered under his breath, an unidentifiable emotion passing across his face. Turning invisible when she looked up sharply and looked around, he backed up and flew after Frostbite, Xue, and Yukiko, spending the rest of the short trip in pensive silence.

Thanking them again, he flew home as fast as he could and shot up to his room as soon as he got home, wincing when the clock read 3:18 a.m. Tomorrow would not be fun.

**LINE BREAK**

At lunch, Danny ambushed Sam and Tucker.

"Guys," He whispered, an almost frantic tone in his voice, "Outside _now_." Sharing a worried look but complying, the two followed him out.

When he was sure they were alone, Danny raised his voice a bit, "Guys, there's a school for ghosts! And Frostbite has kids! And _Dani_ is going to the ghost school!" Shocked silence met his outburst.

Sam blinked her eyes owlishly, "Want to run that by us again?"

Danny let out a frustrated sound, "When I went to Frostbite's, I found out he has kids, and that there's this school for ghosts, and when I was leaving I saw _Dani_! Oh," He added, "And they want me to attend."

"Okay," Tucker finally said, "Processing the first part, but _what_? How are you going to attend ghost school and normal school at the same time?"

Danny bit his lip, "I don't know, but the offer seems almost too good to be true. A school where I can learn to control my powers? No more outbursts, no more dangerous accidents…" He shot a look at Tucker, not having shared the dodgeball incident with Sam.

Sam put a hand on his knee, "This sounds great and all, I mean, we'd help you with your normal homework and stuff for normal school, but how are you going to manage to get to both classes? And what are you going to tell your parents?"

Danny looked nervous, "Well, it starts at like 1:45 our time and ends at like 5:00, so I wouldn't be missing much of either if I skipped out a bit from both…and if I say I'm with you guys I don't have to tell anything to my parents." Sam still looked apprehensive but slowly nodded,

"I guess if you think you can manage…" Tucker clapped his hand on Danny's back.

"Go for it if you want to man, we got your back." Danny brightened up for a minute,

"Oh! And me and Frostbite managed to find something out about that thing my parents had!" Sam and Tucker perked up a bit at that.

"What did you find out?" Sam, asked.

Danny smiled sheepishly, "Uh, I don't know." He pulled the book out of his backpack, "It's in a book and I don't really want to read it all so…"

Sam rolled her eyes and grabbed it, "I'm on it."

* * *

Okay guys, this was all written in like 6 or so days, it's rough, it's tough, it hasn't been edited yet,

but I really hope you all like it enough to review since reviews keep me going, haha. :)

Beta: The Rose Blue Prince. (Note from Blue to you: This was fun to do, I can't wait for the next chapter! XD)


	2. Juggling (Part 1)

Chapter 2 – Juggling

Started: September 16, 2012

Ended: November 16, 2012

_'10:52…10:52 and fifteen seconds…10:52 and eighteen seconds…'_ Waiting for the last six minutes of history to end was almost physically painful for Danny. His legs bounced incessantly, his pencil wouldn't stop tapping the desk, and he had absolutely no idea what the teacher was talking about as he almost glared at the clock. Today was going to be his first day at Anima Vesna and he couldn't be late. Having looked over everything but his class schedule as he did his best to catch up for the week he missed, Danny planned on doing that during lunch and then memorizing it as quickly as he could. He already had his core development, host physiology, and Ghost Zone history textbooks in his backpack as well as some new notebooks and writing utensils (thanks to Sam and her bottomless fountain of toothpick money), so he could just grab his backpack and leave after the first fifteen minutes of pottery.

Eventually the bell did ring, and Danny tore out of the classroom as fast as he could, glad he didn't have to sit through another minute of history. Cutting several people in the lunch line as stealthily as he could, Danny glanced around nervously. What would it be like? Going to school with other people that had powers? With ghosts? It was almost surreal, he couldn't believe such an opportunity had presented itself before him.

Hurriedly thanking the lunch lady for his slop, he ran to the doors leading outside, having told Sam and Tuck to wait for him there. Seeing Sam, he paused. Tucker had a study period before lunch, so he was never late to any meeting the three planned for that time period. Opening his mouth to ask when he neared Sam, he paused to look where she was pointing in disbelief. In a little alcove on the opposite side of the lunchroom was Tucker talking to a girl. Tucker was talking to a girl. And she wasn't slapping him or walking away. It was odd to say the least. Seeing a frown cross the boy's face as the girl leaned in to tell him something, Sam and Danny shared a glance. What was going on? Surprise appeared on Tucker's face and he took a step away from the girl, his face returning to normal after a moment, then the two nodded to each other and the mystery girl scurried off. Sam and Danny tried in vain to see a glimpse of her face, but she had already disappeared into the halls. From what they had been able to see, she had been average looking and rather nerdy. Curiouser and curiouser.

By the time Tucker had made his way across the room, the other two were smirking. Finally Sam spoke up,

"Was that Andy?" An unidentifiable look appeared on Tucker's face and he cocked his head to the side a bit,

"What?" Sam pulled him towards the exit,

"You know, that girl you asked to the dance?" She prodded. Tucker's face cleared and a bright smile appeared on his face,

"Oh yeah!"

"Well," Sam asked as they made their way to the tree they always sat at, "What did she say?"

"Mhmm," Danny added, "You looked awfully surprised."

"She said yes!" Tucker said after a moment of thought, "Well, she said maybe cause the guys she asked hadn't replied, so...yeah. I expected a no to be honest." Nodding in satisfaction Sam sat down, taking Danny's tray as she did so.

"Hey!" He said, indignant at having his lunch taken, "I was planning on eating that you know!"

"Not until you go get your schedule and we look over it." She replied sweetly, nudging the tray towards Tucker, "Now hurry before Tucker ends up eating it instead." Rolling his eyes as he smiled at her antics, Danny took off for the hallway jogging, knowing he needed to get in and out before Dash and Co. spotted him alone.

Looking over the schedule the yeti's had given him, Danny blanched. Hurrying back to Sam and Tucker, he shoved the faintly glowing paper in Sam's face,

"Sam!" He yelled almost hysterically, "Look at this! I can't go to school with them!" Pulling the schedule off her face, Sam gave Danny a look,

"Calm down, I bet it's not-"

"No!" Danny interrupted, "Look!" Rolling her eyes Sam finally read the letter and quieted, a frown crossing her face the further she read.

"Ember? Poindexter? Klemper?" She looked up, "Are you sure this is right? They can't possibly attend this school."

"Klemper?" Tucker repeated, snatching the paper for himself, "And who's Pansy?" Looking farther down the list, his eyebrows rose, "Dude, you have a class with Aragon!" He exclaimed before Danny grabbed it again,

"Aragon?" He groaned, "I'm gonna die! Again!" Tucker grinned at him,

"Hey, if you do die again can I have your comic collection?" Sam reached over and smacked him on the shoulder,

"Oh shut up." She turned to Danny, "Hey, it'll be okay. When I was reading that boo-"

"I don't really have time for that book now Sam," He waved the sheet of paper in front of himself, "I need to worry about this!" Glaring at him, Sam continued,

"As I was saying, while I was reading that huge ghost book I found out what that pendant was for. It-" Danny interrupted again,

"Sam! Ember and Aragon are gonna re-kill me! I have more important things to-"

"Shut up!" Sam finally yelled, looking ready to strangle him, steam practically coming from her ears,

"Like I said," She growled, daring Danny to open his mouth, "I found out about that pendant. It affects a ghost's core and cuts them off from a large part of their power. So we'd just have to dress you up or something and since you wouldn't be able to use your normal powers they wouldn't be able to sense or recognize you. Unless you do something extremely stupid." She added as an afterthought. Meanwhile, Tucker re-stole the schedule. Danny calmed a bit,

"You think so?" He said, "I mean, I'd really like to stay alive. Er, half alive." She smiled,

"Yeah, we'd like that too." A small moment of silence passed between the two before Tucker yelled,

"Dude!" He grabbed Danny's face, turning it to face himself, "You have a class with Dani! Dani!" He shook the boy in front of him, "Do you know what this means?" When Danny mutely shook his head no Tucker grinned maniacally, "We get to actually meet her! Face to face!"

Shrugging off his friend's hands, Danny quirked an eyebrow,

"And how exactly are you going to do that hmm? Skip class and head out to the Ghost Zone by yourself?" Seeing his friend's enthusiasm quickly disappearing, Danny hurriedly added, "But I'll try to get her to visit or something." Wanting Sam and Tuck to actually meet Dani, who was actually a pretty big part of his life even though she'd been missing for a long while, was one of the main reasons for this, especially since the three had never officially met.

"Okay," Sam said, "Go get the _Argentum_ _partitus_." At the odd looks from the boys she rolled her eyes and continued, "The pendant thingy. It does have a name, actually it's part of Ghost Zone mythology." She huffed a bit, "If you had actually read the book you might know." Danny nodded slowly as he backed away,

"Yeah, got it, I'll be right back with the party thingy." Flicking piece of her lettuce at him Sam mock glared at him,

"It's _partitus_, stupid. Now get out of here."

LINE BREAK

Turning the small silver circle in his hands as he walked back over to Sam and Tucker, Danny thought about what Sam had said about it. So it cut a ghost off from its core? He peered at it closely, bringing it up to his eye and looking through the hole in the center. It looked completely ordinary apart from the glowing. Oh well, Sam would no doubt be able to figure it out. Tossing it towards her as he neared since he knew she would catch it, he plopped down on the grass and plucked the only vaguely edible looking thing off of Tucker's tray. Ducking the halfhearted and badly aimed swipe at his head from Tuck, Danny looked at Sam, who had pulled out the old book he'd given her.

"So how do we turn this thing on?" She looked up and shot him an exasperated look,

"That's what I'm trying to find out. Patience, learn it." Bored, he leaned over and began reading the book over her shoulder, only to have her twitch away a moment later.

"What are you doing?" She said, clutching the book to her chest, "I can't stand it when people read over my shoulder!" Smirking, Danny leaned in even closer,

"You mean like _this_?" Hearing Tucker clear his throat the two suddenly realized how close their faces were and quickly pulled away blushing and looking in opposite directions. "So," He began, rubbing his neck awkwardly, "Um, find anything yet?" Her cheeks still red, Sam shook her head.

"I remember where the section is though, so it shouldn't take too long to find." She said, her voice as casual as she could make it. Tucker rolled his eyes. _'Honestly!'_ He thought, _'You'd think they at least have a clue by now!'_

After a few minutes of silence Tucker groaned and flopped onto his back, staring at his watch dejectedly. They only had six minutes left of lunch and he'd barely been able to eat any of the slop the lunch lady had given him. The last half of the day was gonna be horrible. Finally, Sam held up her book and let out a short 'Aha!' of triumph,

"Got it!" Grabbing the pendant out of Danny's hand, she flipped it over and stared at the smooth back of it. Having found something she held it in front of Danny, "See? It even came with its own instructions. Can you read it?" Giving Sam a look, Danny sarcastically replied,

"Why yes, I can totally read the tiny letters dangling an inch from my face. Oh look, it says, _'Back up'_." A snort from Tuckers direction earned him a spoonful of mush on his beret and he turned around, grumbling about girls not being able to take a joke.

"It _says_, _'Findito potential, reformandam in unum' _stupid. Now put it on." Grabbing the jewelry being tossed in his direction, Danny gave her a look.

"What? So just say _'Findito refor-'_" Sam cut him off,

"No, it's _'Findito potential', _not _'Findito reformandam_'." Rolling his eyes, Danny replied,

"Oh I'm sorry for saying the weird phrase in a dead language on the back of something my parents found wrong. _'Findito potential_'. See? It's-_Ahhhh!_" Falling to the ground Danny began to spasm, clenching his fists and writhing on the ground while screaming soundlessly. Panicked, Sam and Tucker quickly glanced around before dragging him from the tree to a more concealed area behind the school.

"Sam!" Tucker yelled, his voice filled with fear, "Sam what's going on?!" Frenzied, tear-filled eyes met his own and her choked,

"_I don't know!_" Only seemed to reinforce the helplessness he was feeling. The rings of Danny's transformation flickered into visibility and the duo were glad for the fact that they had removed him from the curious eyes of the student population. Slowly separating, the glowing blue circles slowly darkened as they made their way across Danny's writhing body until they were nearly black. As they reached his feet and head they flared a bright, explosive yellow before suddenly retracting and leaving Danny unconscious and smoking.

Temporarily dazzled by Danny's light show, Sam and Tucker only rubbed their eyes and tried to squint through the spots in their vision until a pained groan from Danny made them find their way to him.

"Danny?" Sam whispered frantically, "Danny are you okay?" Flashbacks from the portal incident filled her mind and her only thought was, _'No, oh God no this can't be happening again. Please don't let this be happening again…'_ Slowly rolling over onto his stomach, Danny raised himself on shaking arms with the support of his friends and gave out a harsh laugh,

"Geez Sam," He said, his voice rough and scratchy, "Give a guy a warning before you spring something like that on him." Sam, trying to contain her sobs only nodded and squeezed his arm tighter as tears made their way down her face. Tucker's soft,

"You okay dude? That looked pretty bad." Made Danny groan again and run a hand across his face.

"Yeah, that was not fun. But I've been through worse." Finally opening his eyes and looking up at his oldest childhood friend, his grin turned to a concerned frown as he registered the look on said friend's face. "What? What's going on Tuck?" He turned to look at Sam and her own gasp only made him feel more panicked, "Sam? Guys what's happening?" Sitting up he began looking for something reflective, fearing the worst.

"Danny, _your eyes!_" Sam whispered before grabbing his face and holding him still as she peered into them, "They're turning _purple!_"

"Sam, look! His hair!" Tucker said, pointing at his friend's head his face full of surprise, "It's starting to turn _orange_!"

"What do you mean it's turning orange?" Danny yelled, pulling away from Sam and clutching at his hair, "It _can't_ be orange!"

"Except that it is Danny!" Sam said, "And if I wasn't so scared right now I'd be laughing! You look like your mom!" Comprehension dawned across her face, "Tucker, wouldn't you say he looks like his mom?" Shaking himself out of his stupor, Tucker nodded.

"Well yeah, but _why_?" Sam looked at Danny sharply,

"Danny, where's the pendant?"

"Really Sam?" Tucker snapped, "Danny almost _dies_, _again_, and all you care about is that stupid piece of jewelry? I hope it gets lost!"

"No you don't!" She replied with just as much vehemence, "Because if it is Danny's stuck like this!" Tucker and Danny stilled,

"Wait, what?" Danny said, looking at her with alarm, "You mean I'm stuck like this if we can't find that dumb party thing?"

"Oh for the last time it's _partitus_! _Argentum partitus!_ It means 'silver divide', and when you said _findito potential_ you gave it the order to split your power, which it did! Meaning it also partially split your DNA and apparently left you with your mom's characteristics instead of your dad's! If we can find it we can get the reverse order and make you normal again!" She paused, looking closer at him, "And quickly too, your face is starting to look more like your mom's already." Danny grabbed his face,

"My _face?_ Am I going to turn into a _girl_?" He cried out, terrified of the prospect.

"Oh don't act like it's some horrible thing. And of course not, even an artifact that powerful can't change a person's essence and body that completely. You're just not gonna look related to your dad much is all, just like Jazz." Tucker laughed,

"Dude, you look so dumb. You're like a male clone of your mom!" He snickered again, "You're like Dani! Hey, you two can bond over this!" Sam and Danny continued in their search for the small silver object but Danny took the time to send Tucker a dirty look and telling him to help. "Oh alright, but it's probably by the tree since that's when you went all twitchy. Let's go look, we're late to class anyways and no one can recognize Danny now." Agreeing with the logic the trio made their way to the tree where their stuff was and began looking through the grass there.

"Hey," Sam said to Danny, "You should have a way to keep this on you all the time so you can change back when you need to instead of having to come to one of us."

"Yeah," He agreed, "Here, I found it. Got any ideas?"

"Tucker, check your pockets for any string or something so we can tie it around Danny's neck. While the two went through their belongings Danny stated at the tiny object in his hands, wondering how it could cause so much pain. Another inscription on the back made him look closer, but remembering the recent trauma he had gone through he wisely didn't speak it out loud.

"What does the other half of the writing on this say?" He asked Sam, making her look up,

"'Remake into one' It'll return you to normal." She bit her lip, "But I don't know if it'll hurt or not so you better not try it now. It's pronounced _'reformandam in unum' _if you were wondering. We can't find anything, so when you get to your house remember to string it onto something and then put it on okay? The last thing we need is for you to lose it." Nodding, Danny transformed and began rising in the air until he saw Sam cover her face and fail to conceal a snort,

"What?" He looked at Tucker who was also laughing, crossing his arms as he did so, "Come on guys, tell me." Taking a quick picture with his phone, Tucker tossed it into the air. Landing hard, Danny stared at the photograph incredulously. That could _not_ be him. With blue hair, yellow eyes, a black shirt with green designs on it, orange pants, and green on black shoes he looked like a kindergartener's drawing. It was horrible. He facepalmed before grabbing his bag and floating into the air again, "Sam, this is your fault." He finally said, sticking out his tongue and throwing the phone back to Tucker, "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" The two yelled before Tucker added, "And I hope everyone there is colorblind!"

LINE BREAK

Transforming in an alleyway near his house, Danny ran the rest of the way home. His heart was pounding at a million miles an hour and his hands were shaking, at least at Casper he'd known who he was going to be going to school with having been around them since they were toddlers, but Anima Vesna? That was a whole different story. Rubbing the small pendant in his hand again, he wondered how such a small things could make such a huge change.

Looking like a mini male version of his mother on top of the fact that he was supposed to be in school made Danny sneak in even quieter than usual, and hearing his parents banging around downstairs he made his way up the stairs to his parents' room as quickly as possible. The last thing he needed now was to be caught. Stealing some string from his dad's needlepoint kit, he looped it through the hole in the pendant and tied it around his neck, making sure that it was long enough to be hidden underneath his shirt. Satisfied that it was hidden well enough, he ran to his room and took out his thermos, knowing that there was a stray ectopus or two in it since he'd been too lazy to empty it the night before.

Opening his window he pointed the thermos at the street outside and pushed the release button, watching as the two weak ghosts floated around for a second trying to regain their bearings. Not thirty seconds after they were freed all the ghost alarms in the house went off, alerting his parents to their existence. After a brief period of yelling and stomping around he saw his parents running down the street armed to the teeth and in pursuit of the two disoriented ectopuses.

Since his parents were gone and Jazz was in class, Danny trotted down the stairs without even a semblance of stealth, making as much noise as he pleased, secure in the fact that everyone would be gone for at least another half hour. When he reached the Ghost Portal he checked his backpack and necklace one more time before transforming. Seeing a full reflection of himself in some of the many reflective surfaces in the lab, he grimaced again. Really? Blue hair? Ugh.

Flying quietly though the Ghost Zone, Danny began to feel uncomfortable. A sharp tugging was becoming apparent in his chest, becoming more painful as time went on. Trying to shrug it off and continue, he gritted his teeth and kept going until it became so bad he ended up crashing into one of the floating asteroids in his path.

He clutched at his chest panting, trying to massage away the fading pain. Why had that happened? His core felt like it was having a meltdown, but he'd been going the same speed he'd always gone. Sam's words came back to him, _"when you said _findito potential_ you gave it the order to split your power, which it did!_" Filling in the blanks he realized he'd pushed his temporarily unbalanced core too hard and too fast. With only half the power he usually had the speed at which he'd been going strained it past its limits. Lovely. Taking a deep breath and standing up, Danny put all of his spilled school supplies back into his bag and stood up, swaying for a moment before he took off at a much slower pace.

The school was just as beautiful as before, the glowing, multicolored veins of light spreading through the creamy white stone like tiny rivers. Floating through the currently open glass doors his eyes widened at the students before him. There weren't as many as there were at Casper, not by a long shot, but the diversity caught his eyes and made them widen. Ghosts mingled freely with humans (well, halfa's really but that was beside the point) peacefully and with friendliness at that. Even his enemies, ghosts who he always thought hated almost everyone and everything.

Realizing he was just standing in the doorway and staring, he snapped out of his reverie and walked forward as calmly as he could, unable to stop the involuntary way his body tensed when he neared his adversaries. To his left he saw Ember leaning against a wall casually and smiling as she talked to a girl with long brown hair, _smiling_! And she wasn't even doing anything evil! Keeping his head down and trying to hurry through the main hall, he ended up bumping into someone, causing them both to tumble to the ground. Blushing and apologizing profusely, he quickly stood up and held a hand out to the tall brunette boy he had knocked down,

"It's fine man," The boy said, smiling as he held out his hand as well, "Name's James. James Kobold. Nice to meet you." A bit surprised at James' nice demeanor he stuttered for a moment,

"Oh, um, hi James." James laughed,

"Got a name?" Danny smacked himself in the face,

"Right." He said, looking around a bit, "My name's, um, Oliver." Mentally yelling at himself about the stupid name he gave a strained smile. "Yeah, Oliver." Shrugging off the odd look the boy gave him he continued, "So James, today's my first day and I need to get to the office, could you show me where it is?"

"Sure, it's right over here." James said amiably, "So why're you starting late?" Danny cursed himself for not having thought of a backstory.

"Well, um, I'm kind of new to this and didn't know about the school until recently." James looked at him, his interest peaked,

"New huh? Explains the clothes." Danny sent him a look,

"What? You don't like the kindergarten disaster look?" Barking out a laugh James clapped the smaller boy on the back,

"You're funny Oliver. I think we'll get along great. Here's the office, did you need your schedule or something?" Danny shook his head, pulling it out of his bag, and holding it out to the taller boy,

"Nah, already got it. Have to sign in with the principal or something." James took the paper and scanned it, smiling as he handed it back.

"Hey! We have Core Development and Power Training together. Want me to wait out here and show you where the classes are?"

"Yeah, thanks. I'll be out in a minute." Danny said gratefully before ducking into the office. Sitting in the middle of the room at a marble desk doing paperwork was a small Indian woman, the nameplate in front of her reading _'Principal Van Heel'_. Clearing his throat nervously he shuffled up to the woman,

"Um, Mrs. Van Heel? I'm Danny Fenton, Frostbite-"

"Yes, I know who you are Mr. Fenton." She stated coolly, finally looking up from her paperwork, "And it's Ms." She held up her hand, pointing at the empty ring finger. "Is there anything you need?"

"Um, well I need to sign in or something? Xue told me that when I came here I had to check in with you."

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten." Reaching into one of the drawers in her desk, she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. "Sign your name here. The teachers' own lists will be updated as soon as you do." Danny took the pen and bit his lip, shifting from foot to foot.

"Can I put down a different name or something?" Ms. Van Heel frowned, leaning forward and indicating for him to sit in one of the chairs in front of her.

"And why would you want to do that Mr. Fenton?" Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he sat on a hard brown chair,

"Well you see, I live in Amity Park, where the ghost portal is, and so a lot of ghosts tend to go through there. A lot of students. And, well, they tend to destroy stuff, so I have to stop them. So if they knew I was going here they might all try to get me or Amity Park or something…" The principal nodded brusquely.

"I see. Is there any particular name you'd wish to put down?" Danny pulled a face,

"Well as of five minutes ago I'm Oliver, so I just need a last name." Raising an eyebrow, she nodded.

"Would Niven work?"

"Oliver Niven?" Danny nodded slowly, "Uh, yeah. That could work." He motioned to the paper, "So I just write that down?" Nodding, Ms. Van Heel nudged it towards him. Quickly writing the name down, he looked up to see her pointing towards the door,

"If that is all you may go now," A small smile tugged at her lips, "Mr. Niven." Hurrying out Danny almost crashed into James again.

"Sorry," He looked backwards at the closed door as they walked off, "Is it just me or is she-"

"Scary?" James offered, a large smile on his face, "Yeah, we all think that. She can be pretty scary, even when she's not in ghost mode." At Danny's questioning look he only shook his head and smiled, "You'll see eventually. It's always fun to see the newbies' faces when they find out for themselves." He stopped at a door, "And here's Core Development, careful, Mr. Wesley's a stickler when it comes to rules and stuff." Opening it, he motioned inside, "Welcome to your first day at Anima Vesna."

Leaving Danny stranded by the door, James walked over to a seat and sat down. After a moment of hesitation Danny followed, only to have a hand appear at his shoulder, holding him back.

"I take it you are Mr. Oliver Niven?" Came a masculine voice from behind him. Spinning around, Danny caught sight of his teacher. Short with dark blue eyes, black hair, and dark grey skin, the only thing intimidating about the man was his voice and his gaze. For a moment Danny just stared, '_Are all the adults here short?'_ was his first thought before he caught himself and shook the man's hand, spluttering out a yes. Feeling the eyes of the students as well as the teachers looking him up and down, he blushed. "You must be new." The man rumbled, and Danny felt that he didn't mean new to just the school. "I am Mr. Wesley." He motioned towards the class and went to stand behind his desk, "Tell the class about yourself Mr. Niven." Looking out at the mostly unfamiliar faces before him, Danny swallowed.

"Well, um, I'm Oliver. Oliver Niven." Looking back towards Mr. Wesley he saw the man's eyes locked onto him, preventing him from rushing through the door and escaping. "And, uh, I'm a new ghost." He motioned towards his clothes awkwardly, "In case the clothes didn't give it away already. I haven't found out how to change them." Quiet laughter made its way around the room before fading away. Floundering, Danny turned around again, begging to sit down with his eyes. Mr. Wesley sighed,

"And are you a full ghost or a halfa Mr. Niven?"

"Oh," Danny replied, realizing that that was supposed to be what he shared, "I'm a halfa." Changing back, he noticed that instead of being the normal light blue his rings were an odd greenish color. Finally the teacher nodded, picking up a list and looking over the classroom.

"Very well. You may sit by Pansy." A tiny brunette girl near the back raised her hand and Danny quickly made his way over to her, passing Ember and Sidney Poindexter as he did so. Goodness, this was so weird. "Please take out your textbooks and some paper, we are going to be studying the different charges found in the bodies of ghosts and halfas. Please turn to page 39." Opening his book and preparing a piece of paper to write with, Danny slumped a bit in relief. It wasn't too different from normal school after all. "Who understands the importance of the negative charge of the free-floating ectoplasm in the bodies of spectral entities?" Mr. Wesley asked, looking around the classroom as a few hands were raised, "Mr. Poindexter." He finally said, leaning against his desk as he awaited the answer. Sidney's nasally voice spoke out and Danny looked at him, wanting to know how his enemies acted when they weren't causing havoc in the human world.

"If the ectoplasm was positively charged it would be repelled by the similarly positive charge of the ghost or halfa's core, causing them to fall apart and killing the ghost while transforming the halfa into a human." Nodding, Mr. Wesley turned around to write on the smooth stone wall behind him with a finger. Much to Danny's surprise, words appeared wherever the teacher wrote; deducing that it was like a giant touchscreen embedded into the wall, Danny marveled at the cool gadgets ghosts had invented over the years.

Sitting on the opposite side of the room, James was staring at a wall, bored out of his mind. Noticing Oliver scribbling in his notebook diligently he smiled. Newbies, they always tried too hard. Wondering what his new friend was like, he closed his eyes and opened his mind, his breathing slowing as he sensed the room. The cores of the other ghosts and halfas appeared in his his mind, a multitude of glowing orbs in different colors. Pushing past the light blue spheres that were Pyry and Klemper as well as the purple, dark blue, and pink ones that were Ember, Mr. Wesley, and Pansy respectively, he finally reached Oliver's mottled dark blue one. While most cores were balls of solid colored light, Oliver's was dark blue with veins of silver and flecks of light blue, pink, red and orange. Having never seen a core as colorful as this, James reached out to sense the power level of it, but when he touched it an tried to slip in, the silver veins acted like a net, allowing him only to get a faint surface reading before stopping him. Feeling the slightly below average power of his fellow halfa, he retracted, figuring that since Oliver's core was new it was trying to stabilize into a single core type.

Concentrated on what Mr. Wesley was saying about why certain types of ectoplasm were charged a certain way, Danny almost missed the faint feeling of something brushing up against his core. Going from a faint breeze to an almost gripping sensation, it wasn't painful, but the oddness of it stuck out. What was going on? Pausing to look around he took in the other students, only four of which that he knew. Besides Ember, Poindexter, Klemper, and James, there were only two other students (which only served to reinforce the fact that it was a _really_ small school), the girl named Pansy and a yeti boy who he didn't know. And out of all of them, only he, the yeti boy, and Poindexter were taking notes. Feeling like an actual nerd for once, Danny put down his pencil. Ember was staring blankly at the teacher, her eyes on him but her mind a million miles away and most likely on some music lyrics, Pansy was quietly doodling, and James was…what _was_ James doing? It almost looked like he was sleeping as he sat in his seat, his breathing slow and his head slightly tilted down.

Seeing Mr. Wesley stop talking and quietly float over to James he grimaced, that did _not_ look like it would end well.

"_Mister_ Kobold," He began sharply, putting his hands on the desk. In an instant James was jumping upright, yellow sparks leaping from his seat. "Are you ready to start paying attention to the lesson or will I have to be more forceful and send you to Ms. Van Heel?" Swallowing, James hesitantly sat in his seat,

"No Mr. Wesley, I'm alright. Sorry for not paying attention." Satisfied the teacher stood up straight,

"Very well Mr. Kobold. See that you do."

Glad that he hadn't learned about how Mr. Wesley dealt with people sleeping in his class the hard way, he sat up a bit straighter and continued with his notes while Ember was similarly reprimanded, and although her hair flared in anger at being embarrassed she did nothing. It was so weird to see her not lashing out that Danny didn't realize that she noticed him staring until she sent him a rather harsh glare.

"What?" She whispered harshly, "You got a problem newbie?" Putting up his hands in a surrendering manner, Danny quickly backtracked,

"Uh, no. Nope, I'm good, just thinking. Er, about your hair." Her eyes narrowed,

"What about my hair?" She challenged.

"Um, it looks really cool. I've never seen fire hair before, it just looked cool and I zoned out, no problem over here." Giving him another look she sized him up,

"Yeah, well it's not too common. Just keep your eyes on the teacher and not me." Ember finally said before turning back around and facing the front of the class. Danny slumped in his chair, he and Ember had talked, well, sort of, and it hadn't ended in a fight. Unbelievable. Apparently miracles did happen.

LINE BREAK

After the bell rang James caught up to Danny, intent on taking him to their next class,

"Come on! Trust me, you don't wanna be late to Power Training, it's the funnest class here."

"I really doubt that 'funnest' is even a word," He said, shifting the books in his arms. James continued on as they made their way down a side hall,

"Well it should be. It would be an awesome word." Danny stopped,

"Hey James, is there anywhere I can put my stuff? I really don't wanna be carrying all of my books around all day." James brightened,

"Oh yeah! You haven't learned about the walls!" Running over to a cubby hole he motioned towards it, "Here, stick everything in it."

"Uh, what if someone tries to steal something?" Danny said, eyeing the cubby warily,

"Just do it!" James insisted, "You'll see!" Doing what the blue-eyed boy wanted, he quickly shoved everything in it,

"Okay, now what."

"Now," James said, "You do _this_." Throwing a small ectoblasts at the cubby next to his Danny watched in amazement as it seemed to flatten as if it had hit a barrier and then spread out before disappearing. "Go on," Encouraged James, "Try and get in." Sticking his hand into the previously glowing cubby he was surprised to meet resistance, and as his hand met the invisible wall it flared the same gray of James'ectoblast. "See, it's easy. Now you do it!" Gathering up a ball of ectoenergy in his hands, Danny looked at the contents of his cubby, hoping dearly that this would end well. Letting it loose he watched as it did the same as James', and as James was blocked he motioned for Danny to try. "Only the person who locked it can get in, but after it's empty the lock only lasts for about an hour, and teachers can always get in. Anyways, we gotta go!"

Dragging Danny off to the large gym that made up the center of the school, James chattered on excitedly until they made it through the doors. Standing still, he spread his arms,

"And _this_ is the crowning glory of Anima Vesna," He turned to Danny conspiratorily, "At least according to the students. The teachers tend to battle over which class is more important, but we all know this is the best."

"Mr. Niven!" A feminine voiced barked from their left, and the surprise made Danny jump before he realized he was the one being talked to and tried to find who was talking to him. A short (great, _another_ short teacher) woman was staring at him, hands hips and mouth in a thin line.

"Yeah, yeah that's me." Danny said, eyeing her odd clothing. She was wearing some ancient looking purple victorian dress, and the white collar and cuffs on it would have been more at home on an eighty year-old woman instead.

"Get in line." She said, pointing at the group on the other end of the gym in a vaguely line-like formation. When he didn't go right away, she grew a bit agitated, "What? Are you frozen? I _said_ get in line!" Running over and slightly horrified at having found the dead version of a tiny Tetslaff, Danny checked out the group in front of him.

Recognizing only James, Isolde, and Dora, he eyed the other three. The short, long-haired girl he had seen talking with Ember in the hall, a short asian girl, and a tall girl with the oddest green hair he had ever seen; great, so he and James were the only guys in the class.

"Niven!" The oddly-dressed teacher yelled, holding up a clipboard, "Says here you're new! Get in a chamber!" Looking to James with a questioning look on his face for a moment before he stepped towards where the teacher was pointing at, he wondered what he'd gotten himself into. After seeing the huge glass and metal chambers she expected him to get into, he stopped. "Get in Niven!" The teacher yelled out, "We haven't got all day!" Danny spun around,

"Not 'til you tell me what they're gonna do to me!" With the pendant affecting his core he didn't want to take any chances, who knew what this thing could do? The teacher rolled her eyes,

"Shizuka, explain the chambers while I power one up."

"Yes Ms. Sutton," Came the quiet reply as the asian girl, Shizuka, made her way over to him. So the Tetslaff wannabe was called Ms. Sutton? Didn't sound very threatening. If he hadn't met her in person he would've thought she was a kindergarten teacher or something.

"Is Niven your first name?" The almost whispered question brought Danny out of his thoughts and he answered without thinking,

"No, my name's-" He paused, "My name's Oliver." Appearing not to notice his slight hesitation, she led him over to the slowly brightening chamber.

"The chamber will probe your core to see what type it is and determine what you will be learning. You're put inside and it will light up, a few minutes later the chamber will turn to whatever color corresponds with your core type and give a readout of your general strengths and weaknesses to see what needs the most work. It's complicated technology although it looks simple enough." Shizuka explained, brushing a lock of her oddly light hair behind an ear as she looked at him, her hazel eyes watching him with guarded curiosity. "Exactly how old are you anyways?" Danny opened his mouth but said nothing, cursing himself once again for not having thought of a thorough backstory,

"I, uh, I've only been a halfa for..." He thought back to when he had first been turned and tried to figure out how long it took him to control his powers at least enough not to turn invisible or intangible all the time. "Like a month and a half." She cocked her head to the side,

"And when did you learn about Anima Vesna?"

"Like a week or two ago, Frostbite's daughter told me about it." He replied, wondering why she was asking all these questions.

"Why were you speaking to Frostbite's daughter? She can be rather..." Pursing her lips, Shizuka looked behind her towards Isolde, who was berating the tall green-haired girl about something, "Abrasive."

"Oh, I wasn't talking to her, I was talking to her younger sister Adaeze." Danny said, "Isolde kind of left when I got there, something about me not being very great."

"The people of the realm of the Far Frozen are very protective of their young, especially their king, Frostbite. How exactly were you talking to her?" Danny pulled up short, not knowing how to reply without giving away his identity,

"Me and Frostbite are...friends." He said at last, shifting from foot to foot in slight agitation,

"How are you friends?" She pressed, her eyes narrowing, "The yeti's are rarely seen beyond their homes, and with it so difficult to enter few become friends with any of them, let alone their leader, especially in less than two months. Who did you say you were again?" His own eyes narrowed, Danny replied, his tone positively frigid.

"Oliver Niven. I don't believe you gave me your full name."

"Shizuka Hikari, pleased to make your aquaintance." She said, her own voice betraying nothing,

"Well Shizuka," He continued, "I do believe you're done explaining to me how this thing works. I'll be getting in now, you'd best return to the rest of the group before Ms. Sutton comments on your idleness." Making a noncommital noise, Shizuka leisurely made her way back to the group, returning to her previous position and watching him with her sharp gaze every once in a while. Turning back to the huge glass and metal contraption behind him, he took a breath and pulled open the door, stepping into it before it closed behind him, sealing him in.

A few seconds later the area seemed to light up even brighter than before, and the harshness of the white lights made him squint and wonder how this was going to work. No sooner had he thought that than what felt like a white hot poker forcefully shoved itself into his core, making him collapse against the back wall in surprise and agony. The pendant against his chest burned and took on an even brighter glow than before, turning a portion of the chamber the odd swampy green color of his transformation rings. What seemed like hours later, the chamber abruptly changed colors, turning a dark blue that was flecked with pink, red, light blue, and orange. After a moment or two the flecks of color faded away and left the chamber a solid dark blue.

Gasping from his position on the floor, Danny felt the painful stabbing feeling in his chest fade away, slowly rising and leaning heavily against one of the dark walls. With a hydrolic hissing sound the wall he was slumped against seemingly disappeared, causing him to tumble out of the chamber and land painfully on his side. Rolling over onto his back, he stared blankly at the ceiling for a long while, waiting for the lingering pain to ease so that he could regain his bearings.

A hand pressed itself against his neck to feel his erratic pulse and he closed his eyes, pushing away his feelings of temporary helplessness.

"He seems okay," Came a voice he recognized as James', "He must have hit his head or something when he fell out of the chamber."

"Wake him up and have him do a few laps around the gym just to be sure," Ms. Sutton's voice commanded, "The last thing I need is a student bashing his brains out in my class on his first day. Go on, wake him up somebody." A sigh was heard before Danny felt himself buried in a drift of snow. Now usually Danny's cold core kept him protected from all but the worst of cold, but with the pendant severing his link to most of his powers this all but disappeared. Bursting out of the top of the frozen pile of ice crystals, he stood shivering for a moment before jumping out and rubbing his hands together for warmth.

Sending a dirty look at the smirking Isolde, Danny stopped rubbing his hands in favor of his chest, trying to massage the last bit of soreness from it.

"Really Isolde? A simple 'Wake up' would have been fine." He snapped, his recent encounter making him a bit intolerable. Her smirk gained a lofty countenance as she replied, her voice filled with that self-important note that always seemed to follow her around.

"Ah, but this reaction was much more amusing. Really, you should make a fool of yourself more often, it suits you." Gritting his teeth, Danny turned away to deprive her of the knowledge of just how much she was getting under his skin. He got the feeling that this might be how Sam felt about Paulina.

"Enough." Ms. Sutton commanded, her voice barring any objections, "Four laps around the gym in your human forms if you have them stat. You too princess." Frowning at having her fun interrupted on top of being made do participate in an activity she didn't excel in, Isolde got into takeoff position, her knees bent and her face tilted slightly towards the ceiling.

Thinking that they were supposed to run the four laps, Danny immediately took off when Ms. Sutton blew her whistle, only to look up and realize his error, forcing him to make an awkward jump into the air to try and catch up. Remembering that morning, he slowed down to what seemed an acceptable speed, enjoying the flying as much as Isolde's stormy face about being bested by a "newbie" at something as simple as flying.

"What's the matter Isolde?" He yelled back at her, knowing he would regret it later but not caring, "Can't handle competition?"

"Coming from someone in the middle of the group it doesn't mean much!" She retorted hotly, doubling her efforts to catch up. She would not be beat by a snivelling newformed who barely knew his core from his foot and couldn't even exit a chamber without falling over and practically knocking himself out. Deciding that she would repay him for this humiliation later on in the day, she consoled herself with glaring at his laughing form. He might be a good flier, but with a body like that he was no match for her in hand to hand combat or weaponry. If only the teacher were absent, then she would teach the presumptious little whelp a lesson or two about respecting his betters. She was a princess, next in line for the throne, she shouldn't have to deal with insolent peasants.

Feeling someone grab his arm just as he was about to yell out another reply, Danny turned his head, seeing the tiny brunette from before he cocked his head to the side.

"Don't bait her." She said, "You're gonna pay for it later. She's practically a master in her core field and a wonderful swordswoman." Danny gave her a playful grin,

"Well okay then, thanks for caring about my continued existence." Nodding and giving her own small smile, she sped up, pulling ahead of him. Danny made a frustrated noise, with this stupid thing around he felt as slow as Frostbite. Sneaking a peak back at Isolde he smirked to himself, even if he _was_ as slow as Frostbite he could still fly circles around her.

Touching down after finishing their laps, everyone waited for Ms. Sutton to give them instructions for what their next activiy.

"Okay!" She yelled, "All you halfa's better transform for the next activity, we're gonna be doing target practice." One by one, the other halfa's in the group transformed, leaving Danny (who had only seen Vlad transform) in awe with all the physical changed his fellow halfa's made.

The short hispanic girl who had warned him about Isolde grew fangs and black claws, her eyes turning completely black as her hair seemed to ignite, turning into a roaring red and orange flame that rivalled Ember's in its intensity and wildness. Shizuka hair turned a bright silvery gray as her eyes became a mismatched black and red. James' skin faded to blue and circuits seemed to grow on it while his eyed and hair turned a dark, steel gray. Danny felt sheepish about his own mismatched appearance while he was in ghost form, ans tried to make his transformation occur as swiftly as possible. Of course, the snort that Isolde didn't even try to hide when she saw him didn't help.

As the group stayed waiting for Ms. Sutton to tell them exactly what they were going to be shooting at, the Fright Knight suddenly appeared behind her. Startling everyone with his abrupt entrance. As Danny fell into a panicked fighting stance and charged his hands with ectoplasm he internally yelled at himself for forgetting the turn off phrase on the amulet. But as he did so the now flame-haired hispanic girl stepped forward, confusion filling her visage.

"Father?" The sound of crickets became almost tangible as every eye in the gym turned towards her, widening in surprise.

"What did you just say?" Danny yelled out, taking an involuntary step backwards, "_He's_ your father?" Narrowing her eyes a bit as she took a step forward and jutted her chin in the air to meet his eyes, her hair flared.

"And if I did? Do you have a problem with that?" She turned back towards her father,

"Why are you here?" The Fright Knight's image flickered and disappeared, leaving a wide-eyed Ms. Sutton in his wake,

"Is it true Seraphina? Is he your father?"

"Yes," She replied, a frown creasing her forehead, "I was not aware that that was a problem."

"Not a problem?" Danny burst out, "He's the evil spirit of Halloween who tried to free Pariah!" Again, everyone's eyes moved, but this time it was to look at Danny.

"My _father_," Seraphina ground out, "Is a _knight_, and as one he must do his duty whether he wants to or not. He had a family to protect and couldn't risk getting on Pariah's bad side due to the repercussions it could have had on my mother and I. He is the embodiment of halloween, he is not _evil_." As her hair soared towards the ceiling and she glared at him with something akin to hatred, Danny felt the air shift around him and a wall grew into exisence between the them.

"Enough, you two." Ms. Sutton said, eyeing them as they turned to face her. She looked at Danny, "While what you said was true," Seraphina's outraged cry was silenced with a raised hand, "Partially, such hostile words, especially against the family of a fellow student, are unacceptable." Having sufficiently cowed them, the waved her hand and several ectopusses popped up before flying around the gym crazily. "Hit the ectopusses, whoever hits the most gets to choose one of the two activities for you all that I have planned for late. Go."

Sending him another glare Seraphina took of in a whirl of flames, sending vicious blasts of flame colored ectoblasts at the multitude of ectopusses. Shizuka and the green haired girl soon joined in while Isolde and James fired from the ground, their blasts either knocking the ectopusses out of the sky or freezing them solid and leaving them to drop and shatter. Not to be outdone at something he was good at, Danny jumped in the air as well, sending the off-colored green blasts he now possesed at the ectopusses and hitting one after another, not heeding the incredulous, and sometimes calculating, looks he was recieving from his classmates.

When all the ectopusses had been disposed of, everyone who had been flying landed and even the people on the ground found themselves panting with exertion. Checking off something on her clipboard, Ms. Sutton was quiet for a short period of time before she walked back over to her tired pupils,

"'Kay. Get up." She ordered, nudging a few with her black booted feet, "Oliver won, he gets to choose. And since neither of the activities are easy I suggest you get off your sorry butts and get moving before I manifest a Pariah Dark and have you fight _him_." Paling a bit, everyone rushed to stand, "Good." She turned to Danny, "Now pick: split battle or everyone for themselves to the end."

"Huh?" Danny's confused face made Ms. Sutton put her hands on her hips in exasperation and roll her eyes,

"Three on three battle to the the last man," She eyed the girls for a half a second, "Or woman, or everyone for themselves and whoever lasts longest wins."

"Oh..." After thinking for a moment Danny spoke up, "Do I get to choose teams?" She gave him an indulgent smile,

"No. Now pick fast before I let someone else do it." Knowing she's probably but him with both Isolde and Seraphina, Danny was quick to reply with,

"Everyone for themselves, king of the hill." Ms. Sutton scratched her chin,

"King of the hill huh? It's been a while since I've been in the human world and heard such things." A devilish smile crossed her face, "I simply _must_ ]use that someday in my classes." When everyone turned and glared at Danny he gulped, "Everyone choose somewhere to be! Timer starts in fifteen seconds!" Panicking, everyone scrambled for a good position to be in when she blew her whistle.

The minute its shrill sound tore though the air, all hell broke loose. James send a grey blast at the green haired ghost girl who retaliated with a dark green one of her own while Seraphina and Isolde teamed up on Danny and send fiery and pale blue blasts respectively. Soaring as high as she could, Shizuka hid as best as she could against the smooth ceiling and began gathering a ball of crackling red energy in her hands.

Being double-teamed, Danny dodged as best as he could and returned fire when possible, causing the angry girls to cease fire for a brief period as they avoided his blasts. Leaving behind an alternately frozen and scorched path behind him, Danny flew as fast as his core allowed, which was still considerably closer than the quickly gaining Seraphina.

With Isolde sending wave after wave of cold energy from the ground and Seraphina sending searing blasts from behind, he was hard pressed to find an escape, but when he saw Shizuka getting ready to send an enormous red blast towards James he turned in as tight of an angle as he could manage and headed his friend's way. Smashing into James and sending them tumbling in time to dodge Shizuka's electrical blast and let it crash into Seraphina instead, which sent her skidding across the floor where Isolde quickly froze her solid in a giant block of faintly glowing ice.

"I thought you two were allies or something?" Danny yelled as he zoomed by, "You know, the enemy of my enemy and all."

"Opportunity knocked and I accepted the chance to rid myself of a foe that would have taxed my abilities!" She yelled back with a dark grin, "Just as I shall rid myself of you one day you insolent _pest!_" Danny laughed, sending another blast her way and making her jump to the side,

"Ooh, pest? I'm so hurt!" Roaring, Isolde flung her arms wide and loosed a volley of ice shards in his direction. Covering his face with his hands Danny turned around, knowing any shield he put up would fold under the pressure and only be a waste of precious energy. His anger at being unable to use his powers effectively became apparent when instead of simply turning intangible a small tornado manifested around him and sent the shards flying, only a few piercing the growing column of wind. Danny's awe quickly disappeared though when he felt a huge drain on his powers and fell to the ground. Almost unconscious, Danny lay on the ground unable to move as battles raged on above him.

The green haired girl finally ended her and James' struggle when she tricked him into nearing a wall and ensnared him in a tangle of glowing vines with snapping mouths, effectively keeping him down. As she turned her attention to waiting out the flashing red and blue lights that indicates Shizuka and Isolde's struggle she began sinking to the ground and faded into invisibility, effectively disappearing until the two had tired themselves out.

Feeling the creeping slither of ghostly plants covering his body, Danny saw her deep purple eyes over him and her whispered,

"I'm sorry, but you can't get back up." Before she returned to complete invisibility. Groaning silently Danny tried and failed to muster enough energy to fight the ensnaring vines she had left on him. Thankfully she had left his head free enough to turn over and see Shizuka flit through Isolde's denfenses and hug her, which only served to confuse Danny until she released what looked like an contained electrical explosion onto Isolde's tall, furry frame. Smoking, Isolde slumped over, having been knocked unconcious by the powerful attack. Standing over the body of her fallen adversary and wreathed in steam, Shizuka looked every bit the dangerous being she was, and as she let her guard down to survey everyone who had fallen, Danny saw triumph gleam in her eyes.

Until she cursed and spun around, having discovered that one person was missing from the unconscious or bound people, only to run face first into the swinging handle of a glowing wooden scythe. Wincing slightly at the bump she would soon be sporting, Danny watched as the girl who had trapped him finally became visible.

A slow clapping sounded out and everyone who was conscious turned to see Ms. Sutton, a smile on her face as she viewed the scene before her.

"Good job everyone," She looked at the winner, "Mary, could you go through and heal any minor injuries anyone suffered?" Nodding the girl bent down, placing a glowing green hand on Shizuka's forehead. As she moved from person to person, she released or revived them, quietly doing as Ms. Sutton ordered before going to stand by the stern teacher. While everyone slowly stretched and worked out the kinks in their limbs, Ms. Sutton walked around, critisizing everyone's tactics.

"James, you let the fight go on too long and tired yourself out, letting yourself be cornered and caught like one of Skulker's prizes."

"Isolde, you need to work on your long-distance defenses, Shizuka easily got through them and took you down before you could manage to put your hand to hand combat skills to the test. Your anger overruled your better judgement."

"As did yours Seraphina, in the field of battle you could have been ended, fallen to a squire's mistake. You let yourself be led into a trap as you blindly followed your target." Coloring, Seraphina nodded and looked down,

"Oliver, you overextended your core, drastically weakening yourself and letting yourself be wrapped up like a fly in a spider's web as you lay prone on the ground." Danny opened his mouth to protest but she interrupted him, "Of course, by the surprise on your face the ability is new. Since you have just arrived, I will assign you a mentor. Mr. Wesley shares your weather core, he will instruct you in the ways of the Weatherlord's." She turned to Shizuka,

"Shizuka, I'm sure you are aware of your mistake?" The glum reply confirmed the fact,

"I celebrated a premature victory which cost me the fight. I shouldn't have let my guard down until you declared me the winner." Ms. Sutton made an approving noise then turned to Mary,

"You did well, and have improved drastically from the first time we engaged in such an activity. Although you spend a bit too long luring James into your trap, you made good use of Oliver's vulnerable state and Shizuka and Isolde's battle in order to win." She let out a rare smile, "And your use of stealth to take out Shizuka was truly admirable." Blushing at the compliments Mary raised her head and smiled, overcoming the shy nature she always exuded. "But no matter who ended up winning you all did well," Ms. Sutton continued looking at her watch, "And I hope to see you in two days. Our time here is up."

Waiting by the door while everyone left the room, Danny searched for Seraphina, grabbing her arm as she walked by. When she saw who he was her eyes narrowed,

"What do _you_ want?" She spat, anger lacing her tone. Danny held up hs hands in surrender,

"Hey, I'm sorry about what I said earlier." He admitted, knowing that if he tried to beat about the bush she would only get fed up with him, "I have some..." He paused, trying to find a way to phrase it so that it wouldn't be offensive to her, "History, but I should have found out why he did what he did before I made such accusations. They were out of line and you had every right to be angry with me, and for that I apologize." Standing nervously and shifting from foot to foot as she looked him up and down speculatively, Danny left like a little kid waiting to be punished by his mother. When she finally opened her mouth he bit his lip, hoping she wouldn't condemn him,

"You were out of line when you said what you did. But it was the product of great surprise and rash, unthinking behavior on your part." She crossed her arms and sighed in an annoyed fashion, "But you are young," She grinned ruefully at this and stuck out her hand, "As am I, and your tongue seems to be as uncontrollable as my temper. So yes, you are forgiven, and perhaps one day we shall become friends." Grinning gratefully Danny shook the proffered hand,

"Thanks, for a second there I thought you were gonna be mad at me forever." Laughing lightly she pulled away,

"Forever is a long time, especially for ghosts. Take care to remember that Oliver." Hesitating before walking through the door she added, "You may call me Sera if you wish, that is what my companions call me." Before leaving, her long hair swishing in her wake. As he made his own way through the door, he caught sight of Shizuka leaning against the doorframe,

"Yes?" He snapped, his feelings of elation at Seraphina, no, Sera's forgiveness evaporating, "What do you want?" Looking away from Sera's retreating back, Shizuka pulled away from her support,

"So you have, ah, _history_ between yourself and the Fright Night?" She asked, eyeing him shrewdly, "So unusual for a halfa only a month and a half old. Especially when he was last sighted outside his realm three or four months ago." Smirking she took a step forward, "But with connections like Frostbite such a feat must be simple, huh?" She glanced back at the training room, "And such aim! I would have thought you a seasoned warrior had you not told me beforehand that you were barely a child when it came to ghostly powers." Shrugging, she took a disarming step backwards, "Oh well. You are _quite_ the mystery Oliver Niven." As he took a step in the other direction, she reached out and snatched his arm, holding on with an iron grip, her eyes smoldering into his own, "And I _do_ love mysteries." Releasing him to suddenly he stumbled, she whirled around and departed, leaving him confused and half afraid of the tiny asian warrioress.

LINE BREAK

Arriving back at his cubby, Danny looked around him, noting the empty halls. School was not out, so where was everyone? Grabbing his schedule off of his binder, he quickly skimmed through, noting that there was a break after his second class. Hmm. That explained why everyone was gone, but not where. Seeing a blond girl entering the other end of the hallway, he grabbed his things and ran over to her, intent on asking where everyone had left to. Noticing him coming in his mismatched ghost form, she crinkled her nose in distaste.

"Hey," He began, panting a bit after running down the corridor with an armload of books, "Do you know where everyone went? I'm new and-"

"Of course. I'm not stupid." She said haughtily, then waved her hand vaguely in the other direction, "They're all over there, most likely doing all sorts of irritating things." Looking him over she gave him a disparaging look, "No doubt you'll fit it nicely." Danny looked at her in shock, were all the girls here out to get him? First Isolde, then Shizuka, then Seraphina, and now this? Great. All the teachers were short and all the girls were mean. Thinking about Mary and her shyness as well as Pansy's indifference, Danny amended his last statement. All the teachers were short at _most_ of the girls were mean. He was beginning to regret his decision to come to this school...

Sorry for the long wait guys, I've been super busy and all on top of having this huge list of things that needed to happen for this chapter (which I only got halfway through before I realized this was like 23 pages long and decided to divide it into two), which really helps when I'm writing but kills me because I can never stop. Anyways, review! It makes me happy and encourages me to write! (Well, doing this as my NaNoWriMo does too but whateves haha this makes me feel better)


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